Des Moines, Iowa, Jun. 7 - Wendy's International Inc., in a breakthrough that gives it an edge in serving healthier fast food, is eliminating most artery-clogging trans fats from its menu.
Beginning in August, the nationwide chain will sell french fries and chicken sandwiches and strips that either have no trans fats or just a fraction of what they now absorb while being deep-fried.
Its hamburgers still will contain small amounts of the substance, which occur naturally in beef and dairy products. Earlier this year, Wendy's introduced a salad line it calls trans fat-free.
The culmination of nearly two years of testing and research, the company's latest move is likely to be cheered by dietitians and a medical community increasingly concerned about the relationship between trans fats and heart disease.
It also is certain to increase pressure on rivals McDonald's Corp. (MCD), Burger King Holdings Inc. (BKC) and other fast-food chains to offer similar fare - particularly french fries, which are considered a major source of trans fats.
McDonald's has been working for years on a trans fat-free fry that doesn't compromise taste. A spokeswoman said last week that the search is "taking longer than anticipated, (but) we continue to progress in our testing, and we are determined to get it right for our customers."
Lori Estrada, Wendy's senior vice president for research and development, said tests in several markets around the U.S. and Canada showed "that consumers couldn't tell the difference in taste" between fries or chicken cooked in the current oil and those in the new one.
Wendy's experimented with more than a half dozen cooking oils before settling on a proprietary corn-and-soy blend, produced for it by agribusiness giant Cargill Inc.
Not only does the oil essentially eliminate trans fats in fries and breaded chicken, but it also shrinks the amount of saturated fats they contain, which could be another plus for Wendy's marketers.
Fries in Kids' Meals, which now contain 3.5 grams of trans fat, will have none when the new oil is introduced. The item Wendy's sells with the most trans fat, Great Biggie fries, will have that amount reduced to 0.5 gram from 7 grams, a drop of about 93%.
With 6,700 restaurants, Wendy's becomes the largest chain in the U.S. to virtually ban trans fats. Other restaurateurs that have done so include Panera Bread Co. (PNRA), Ruby Tuesday Inc. (RI), California Pizza Kitchen Inc. (CPKI) and closely held Legal Sea Food of Boston.
Ian Rowden, Wendy's chief marketing officer, said in an interview Wednesday that while the trans fat-free move "is a big position for us to take from a public relations point of view," he doubts it will be mentioned in TV commercials. It will, however, be noted on packaging, in-store signage and on the chain's Web site, Rowden said.
Besides not compromising the food's taste, the new oil had to be cost-neutral, he said. It does that in part because it replaces two current shortenings, one that's used for fries and another for chicken.
In January, the Food and Drug Administration required food processors to disclose trans fat content on labels. The FDA has no such authority over restaurants, but just last week urged them to promote healthier foods and give customers information on the nutritional content of what they're eating.