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June 13, 2006 -- A watchdog group sued fast-food giant KFC on Tuesday in a bid to stop the company from using heart-disease-causing oil in its foods.
The suit charges that KFC does not inform consumers that it continues to use partially hydrogenated vegetable oil in fried chicken and other products sold at its more than 5,400 outlets nationwide.
A statement issued by Yum! Brands, Inc., which owns KFC, called the suit "frivolous and without merit."
Partially hydrogenated oil contains trans fat; since the early 1990s studies have linked trans fat to heart attacks, strokes, and other forms of cardiovascular disease.
Trans Fat Limits
Government recommendations urge consumers to limit daily trans fat intake to no more than 1% of total calories. That comes to 2 grams per day for the average recommended 2,000-calorie daily diet.
But a KFC meal including three pieces of extra-crispy chicken contains 15 grams of trans fat, while a single pot pie contains 14 grams, charged the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
"Typical KFC meals are literally dripping with trans fat," says Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of Center for Science in the Public Interest, which backed the suit.
The suit officially targets KFC outlets in the District of Columbia. But Jacobson said it was intended to get the chain to change its oils nationwide.
A nutritionnutrition calculator on the chain?s web site displays the amount of trans fat in food. But the suit?s backers say that few consumers visit web sites before ordering fast food, and that the information is not readily available in restaurants.
"Consumers don?t know that KFC utilizes trans fat products. They deserve to know," says Richard D. Heideman, an attorney with the law firm Heideman, Nudelman & Kalik.
But the statement from Yum! Brands, Inc. says "all KFC products are safe to eat and meet or exceed all government regulations, and we take health and safety issues very seriously." Company officials say they are reviewing the use of different oils but "a number of factors," including taste, affect their decisions.
A 2002 report from the Institute of Medicine declared that consumers should keep their intake of trans fat as low as possible. The report led the FDA in January to order packaged foods to list trans fat amounts on their nutrition labels. The ruling did not apply to restaurants.
SOURCES: Complaint, Arthur Hoyte, MD v. Yum! Brands, Inc., Superior Court of the District of Columbia, June 13, 2006. Michael F. Jacobson, executive director, Center for Science in the Public Interest. Richard D. Heideman, attorney, Heideman, Nudelman & Kalik. Statement, Yum! Brands, Inc. Institute of Medicine: "Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids," Sept. 5, 2005. 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Report.