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Four years ago [8], McDonald's [9] voluntarily announced that it would cut artery-clogging trans fats, the ingredient listed as "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" that is used to cook french fries and many other products throughout the fast food industry. Fast-forward four years--add an $8.5 million legal settlement [10] and the first legislative bans [11] on trans fats--and the company has announced it again. This time McDonald's says it's not spin: "We can confirm that we've got the right oil. We're phasing it in," said a company spokesman of a new mix of canola, corn and soy oils. Like other fast food chains, McDonald's has a special incentive: New York City has banned trans fats in most fried food, effective in July, and other communities aren't far behind. [12] Some restaurant chains, including KFC and Wendy's, had already announced their own phaseouts, but McDonald's told the Chicago Tribune [13] that, until now, it hadn't been able to ensure that its fries would live up to consumer expectations. A Harvard University study [14] estimates that trans fat-driven heart disease kills 30,000 people per year. Health advocates still offer a mixed verdict: ending trans fats commendably may help keep arteries healthier, but won't reduce calories or obesity [15], notes nutritionist Marion Nestle.
Links:
[1] http://dev.prwatch.org/users/2282/jonathan-rosenblum
[2] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/public-relations/crisis-management
[3] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/health/obesity
[4] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/children
[5] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/corporations
[6] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/health
[7] http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fdev.prwatch.org%2Fspin%2F2007%2F01%2F5698%2Ffour-years-later-mcdonalds-again-nixes-trans-fats&linkname=Four%20Years%20Later%2C%20McDonald%27s%20Again%20Nixes%20Trans%20Fats
[8] http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/09/04/MN96492.DTL
[9] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/McDonald's
[10] http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2005/02/15/51451.htm
[11] http://www.prwatch.org//node/5518
[12] http://www.restaurant.org/government/state/nutrition/bills_trans_fat.cfm
[13] http://www.chicagotribune.com/wireless/avantgo/business/chi-0701280346jan28,0,7148043.story
[14] http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/transfats.html
[15] http://www.madison.com/tct/business/stories/index.php?ntid=115822
[16] http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070129/ap_on_he_me/mcdonald_s_oil