Burger King Holdings (NYSE: BKC) announced today that it has started to roll-out its trans-fat-free cooking oil to its restaurants around the United States. Expectations for the fast-food giant to become trans-fat-free are slated for the year-end of 2008 and could be sooner if additional supplies of fat-free oil are available. Burger King, known for its flame-broiled burgers, uses cooking oil for its French fries and the majority of its chicken products. The switch to trans-fat-free oil follows the steps of other fast food chains like McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ: SBUX), Wendy's (NYSE: WEN), Applebee's (NASDAQ: APPB), Yum! Brands' (NYSE: YUM) KFC and Taco Bell units, and even Wal-Mart Stores' (NYSE: WMT) delicatessens.
Where did all the taste go?
"In tests on over a dozen core items, consumers determined that products cooked in trans fat-free oil tasted the same or better than products cooked in the traditional oil," according to a statement from Burger King's president of global marketing, strategy and innovation, Russ Klein.
Burger King is one of the last fast-food companies to address the issue of trans-fat, according to Bloggingstocks.com's Julie Tilsner. The Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest sued Burger King in May saying the company moved too slow and failed to set a time table for the removal of trans-fat from its restaurants.
Regardless of the taste, in order for consumers to eat the "healthier" fast-food products, investors will more than likely have to cough up a little more at the register -- the supply of trans-fat-free oil is limited.
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