Joining the rats (or perhaps that isn't a good analogy for a KFC story) jumping off the trans fat ship, Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM) has announced that it has stopped using the controversial product in its U.S. KFC and Taco Bell restaurants. Taco Bell is still working to purge it from all of its ingredients. Use of the reputed coronary-clogging fat in other Yum brands Long John Silver's, Pizza Hut, and A&W was not addressed.

Yum joins the avalanche of food providers discontinuing the use of trans fat in response to public demand, which led some cities such as New York to pass legislation banning its use. Trans fat is popular with restaurateurs because it prolongs fry oil life and stability.

Still looming over Yum's head, though, is the threat of the U.S. Senate's ongoing hearings about obesity in children and the possible culpability of the fast food industry. Expect this story to play out in the fall, even as companies such as Yum Brands to begin introducing healthier options.

In the meantime, I'm relieved I no longer have to worry about nasty trans fats as I dig into my KFC Mashed Potato Bowl (690 calories, 31 grams of fat -- 31 grams is more than a quarter-stick of butter!), or an order of Taco Bell's Nachos BellGrande (790 calories, 44 grams of fat -- over a third of a stick of butter).

Ironically, Colonel Harlan Sanders, creator of the secret recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken, lived to 90, and died of leukemia, not a heart problem.