Health Risks Spur Suit Against KFC Over Trans Fats

An influential consumer group wants to put KFC's fat in the fire.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to end KFC's use of partially hydrogenated oil in fried chicken and other dishes.

If it comes up short, the group wants the District of Columbia Superior Court, where the suit was filed, to order KFC to post signs notifying customers that many of the chain's foods are high in trans fat. Such artery-clogging fat is found in abundance in partially hydrogenated oil.

"By frying in such a dangerous oil, KFC is making its unsuspecting consumers' arteries extra crispy," said Michael F. Jacobson, the group's executive director, in a reference to one of the chain's popular menu items.

The suit, which seeks class-action status, marks a change of tactics for the Washington-based organization, which gained a reputation as the "food police" in the 1990s when it declared fettuccine Alfredo "a heart attack on a plate" and publicized the fat, calorie and sodium content of Italian food and other tasty ethnic cuisines.

Jacobson said other large chains, including Dunkin' Donuts and Denny's, that rely on partially hydrogenated oils are potential targets for litigation.

KFC, a unit of Lexington, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc., called the lawsuit "frivolous."

"All KFC products are safe to eat and meet or exceed all government regulations," the chain said in a statement. "We provide a variety of menu choices and provide nutrition information, including trans fat values, on our website and in our restaurants so consumers can make informed choices before they purchase our products."

Partially hydrogenated oils are used extensively in the restaurant business because they have a long shelf life and are well suited for cooking crispy, crunchy foods, said Penny Kris-Etherton, a professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State University. Despite the versatility and pleasing taste of the oils, there is a broad scientific consensus that trans fats are unhealthy, contributing to high cholesterol and heart disease, Kris-Etherton said.

"We keep getting more and more research that they are bad. We have to get them out of the food supply," she said.

Strict labeling requirements have reduced the popularity of trans fats in packaged foods, but restaurants don't have to adhere to the same rules, she said. Most of the big restaurant chains remain major users of trans fats. However, Wendy's International Inc. said Thursday that it would begin frying its French fries and breaded chicken items with non-hydrogenated oil.