Trans-Fat-Free French Fries at Mcdonalds

OAK BROOK, Ill. – Americans and Canadians dining under the golden arches can worry a little less about super-sizing their waistlines.
McDonald’s is now using trans-fat-free oil at its restaurants in the United States and Canada, CEO Jim Skinner told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting Thursday. The new oil, which is used to cook french fries, hash browns, chicken, filet of fish and biscuits, is canola-based and includes corn and soy oils. Items that still contain the artery-clogging trans-fats, pies and cookies, will also be trans-fat-free by the end of 2008.

Under pressure from health officials and consumer advocates, McDonald’s committed itself to moving away from using trans-fat oils in May of 2007. The process has taken longer that originally planned as the company searched for a substitute product that would not affect the signature flavor of its french fries.

By MEGAN O’NEIL
Staff Writer
megan@midwestbusiness.com


Aroma Thyme Bistro comments:

This now brings McDonald's up to speed with it's competitors. I know they have been making an attempt for this trans-fat-free move for several years. So I guess it is a bit safer to eat fries if you eat French Fries.

The main concern about any French Fry is that it is fried in oil at a high temperature. This causes all sorts of harmful chemical reactions to occur in the food. French Fries are known to have large amounts of acrylamides. This compound has been proven to cause cancer in laboratory tests. It happens when the sugars in foods are exposed to high temperatures.

So if you do like French Fries, don't let this trans-fat-free fry from McDonalds temp you too much!

Marcus Guiliano
Aroma Thyme Bistro
Ellenville NY