Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) has done it again -- it's beaten its larger rival to a retailing milestone. Trans fats, which generally show up as "partially hydrogenated oil" on the nutrition labels of thousands of processed food products, are no longer available in Target's own private label brand.

An in-depth column I wrote a month ago looked at the private label brands between the two largest discount retailers in the U.S. -- Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Target. Not only is Target's main private-label brand packaged and marketed in a more appealing way, it's now healthier. Certain municipalities are even banning trans fats in restaurant menu items. Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about the fats used in the products they consume. Target just one-upped everyone by taking trans fats away from all products in the Archer Farms portfolio.

Now, Target does say that all items in its Archer Farms brand "contain zero grams of added trans fat," which probably means that naturally occurring trans fats may still be included in some products. Also, Target said that it was merely meeting the Food and Drug Administration's definition of zero added trans fats. No better way to disclaim thyself, yes?

Currently, the FDA allows foods with 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving to be labeled as featuring zero grams of trans fat. Of course, manufacturers can shift around serving sizes to bypass this in a sneaky way. Hopefully, though, other retailers will follow suit and drop as many added trans fats in private label products as possible.

Say what you want about the tasty warmth of its fresh-from-the-fryers glazed confections, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE: KKD) hasn't been leading the sweet life of late. Beleaguered and beaten down in the midst of what CNN Money calls a "sputtering turnaround effort," the company remains challenged with an anemic share price, struggling sales, and folding franchise locations.

Today, Chief Executive Daryl Brewster, who took the reins in March 2006, announced plans to retire for personal reasons. Brewster will leave his post at the end of this month. The board quickly named James Morgan, board member since 2000 and chairman of the board since 2005, to take the vacated seat.

In other news, Krispy Kreme has followed the lead of many fast-food concerns to announce that all products sold in the U.S. are now free of trans fats. KKD officials said it has been introducing zero-grams trans fat products across the country during the past several months.

Investors are cheering this combination of news, as the stock has spiked 9.5% in today's trading. Of course, given the stock's current price (around the $3 level), this represents an absolute increase of 27 cents per share.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

The Boston Globe reports that "For more than four years, a small team huddled in the Dunkin' Donuts research lab trying to crack the code for a doughnut without trans fats that tasted just like those on which the chain had built its reputation over the last half century."

And now, at last, they have done it. In a few weeks, Dunkin's 5,300 stores will introduce trans-fat free donuts. While they can hardly be considered a health food -- they still contain the same amount of total fat -- this has to be considered a major accomplishment. Just a few years ago, there was doubt about whether such a feat could be accomplished. Competitor (sort of like saying the Tampa Bay Devil Rays compete with the Yankees ...) Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE: KKD) is still working on a trans-fat free donut, and doesn't yet have anything ready to market.

What's next for these doughnut-engineers? How many years are we away from a truly healthy donut? Will fat-free, sugar-free ice cream ever taste like something other than opening the freezer and sticking your head in? All of this talk about healthy junk food reminds me a bit of alchemy, but researchers seem to be making progress.

But would a healthy donut even be fun? Or would it become to common-place to count as a treat, and lose its allure?

This morning, fast-food behemoth McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) reported that its same-store sales spiked 4.8% worldwide in April. Helping drive the sales growth last month, according to company officials, were the kid-friendly Happy Meal, breakfast items, and the new "Snack Wrap" menu offering.

On U.S. soil, same-store sales rose 3.5%. The figures rose 3.5% in Europe and surged 10.3% in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East, and Africa regions (this ties in with Zac's posting yesterday about the expanding waistlines among Japanese women). Total sales rose 9.6% across the globe and 4.2% in the U.S.

With the exception of its fries, and the Big Mac I crave about once every 18 months, McDonald's has never been my favorite, but it's inarguably a force to be reckoned with. And amid complaints from Morgan Spurlock and countless others, MCD has done its part to fight obesity - finding an oil free of trans fats for its french fries, for one, and introducing healthier menu options, such as veggie burgers and better salads.

The company's stock is also an exquisite performer. MCD has been trending higher since early 2003, more than quadrupling in value during the past four years. This month, the stock has eked above its November 1999 peak to peg a new all-time high.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

In a trend that we've seen from fast food chains recently, the move from fatty cooking oils to trans fat-free oils will be taking place inside Wal-Marts soon, according to the company.

The delicatessen areas inside Wal-Mart Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets will undergo a change to use cooking oils free from trans fats, which are known to clog arteries and have other adverse affects on human health.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) actually began the transition away from trans fats back in January, but just this week announced that it had completed the transition.

For regular customers who like fried items from the Wal-Mart deli (like fried chicken), this move will make for a healthier fried food (if that is possible). It's great to see Wal-Mart following the lead of other food establishments and even the lead of New York City, which will have all trans fat-free restaurants by this July according to a new law passed recently there.

What Wal-Mart needs to do now is promote this change more than in the window of its deli locations. It takes more than a press release and more than a few business stories to get the word out, and the retailer(as always) needs all the good publicity it can get. This is a great way to get some, and I'll be amazed if Wal-Mart lets this PR opportunity get by without proper promotion and some generous marketing to ensure the U.S. population that it has taken steps to make its deli foods healthier.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE:KKD) is gaining friends on Wall Street.

CIBC World Markets analyst John S. Glass upgraded the shares to "sector performer" from "sector underperformer" and set a $13 price target, saying the stock was "poised to reenter the investible universe," according to the Associated Press.

People already think that the donut chain will come back. Its shares have soared almost 54 percent over the past year. They gained 2 percent today and were last trading at $10.38.

Doubts about the chain linger. One long-time critic of Krispy Kreme, MarketWatch columnist Herb Greenberg, remains as skeptical as ever. He convincingly argues that the company's turnaround plan is based on strategies that haven't worked before such as increasing sales to convenience stores and adding new varieties.

Moreover, the battles over trans fats doesn't help the chain. Donuts, in case you are completely clueless, are loaded with them. Krispy Kreme recently introduced a whole-wheat donut with 180 calories, to try and show customers that it at least thinks about nutrition. If whole-wheat donuts are in your dieting plan, perhaps you need a new plan. They also don't sound particularly yummy.

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) doesn't break its expenses out by food group, but if it did, "dairy" would certainly be on the top of the list. It may be a coffee company, but milk makes up a large percentage of most of its beverages.

Since the company has switched to trans-fat free pastries, the next item on its list of consumer health phobias: hormones in milk. Artifical growth hormones fed to cows improve milk production; naturally, their use is rife with controversy. Some activists blame artificial growth hormones, known as rBGH, for a wide number of public health problems, from early onset of puberty for girls to interference with a woman's healthy pregnancy.

Starbucks, not one to sit on the sidelines of a potential PR benefit, has announced that all its U.S. stores will switch to rBGH-free dairy products (milk, half-and-half, whipped cream and egg nog). The company hasn't noted when this changeover will occur, although a spokesman said that the percentage of hormone-free milk had gone up from 27% to 37% since the end of 2006.

Sure, ten percentage points in two weeks is a huge jump; but with 63% of the company's dairy products left to go -- and no way to know whether your local shop is hormone-free without raiding its fridge -- activists are reserving their celebrations. And no patting Starbucks management on the back for being proactive. The company has been targeted by the Food and Water Watch, among others, in a campaign to eliminate hormones for several months.

The news seemed so lovely, so sudden, so decisive: effective tomorrow first thing, Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) stores in my hometown, Portland, and in several other major cities (including Seattle, San Francisco, and New York) will replace all trans-fat loaded treats with versions that are free of the artery-clogging stuff.

You'd think I'd be happy. After all, I'm the one who rails on companies for using trans-fats in their foodstuffs, and examines grocery store labels so carefully I did a whole photo essay on it. And both I and my adorable, sugar-crazed kids are frequently found at our local Starbucks, eating the chain's doughnuts, its Cranberry Bliss Bars, its glazed, colorful cookies.

But here's the thing: I didn't realize Starbucks treats had any trans-fats! In announcing this proactive and kind move, Starbucks shook the very foundation of my blissful ignorance. Heading immediately over to Starbucks' web site, I pull up the nutrition information for my local store (since treats are baked locally and different stores have different offerings, each "zone" has its own nutrition sheet). And I am floored.

For nearly 10 years now, I've been fiercely guarding my shopping cart. The wicked would-be interloper: partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, also known as trans fats or trans fatty acids. And it's in everything, from wheat bread to soup to my favorite sticky candy bars. For a while, I was a lone voice and a lone label-reader, inspecting in the wilderness of my grocery store aisles without another soul to fight against the cheap, shelf-stable, yet bad-for-your-heart fat.

In the past few years, a growing public backlash against the stuff, known to contribute to heart disease and obesity, has led to its removal from many major products, from Lay's chips to sandwich cookies. Most Trader Joe's products are now free of the substance (and thus, it's my favorite place to shop). And then, this month, came the New York City ban: no restaurants will be permitted to use trans-fatty acids in cooking oils come July, 2007 -- and trans fats will be banned entirely from all foods available in restaurants by July 2008. This week the Washington State Board of Health announced it was considering a similar ban throughout the northwestern state.

Should you join me and New York City's best (and not-so-best) restaurants? Should you ban trans-fatty acids from your pantry, too? I looked at a bunch of products in my local grocery store to evaluate whether they were worth banning and whether or not my budget could manage it.

This post is written as part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst 2006. If you're a doughnut lover rooting for Krispy Kreme's comeback, cast your vote for it.

Poor Krispy Kreme. People once stood in line for store openings to get their free doughnuts, and the company and brand were the darling of markets and growing well. Who doesn't love a doughnut?

But Krispy Kreme (NYSE:KKD) has fallen from its perch and been dunked in the hot oil of reality: over the past few years the growth of the low-carb awareness -- in the form of Atkins, South Beach, Sugar Busters, and other diets that caused people to cut simple carbohydrates down or out of their diets -- was widespread. Even bread companies complained about the dip in sales.

Then the doughnut company got hit by a second health punch in the form of health awareness about trans fatty acids.

You want to tell customers that they should have realized well before all this that doughnuts obviously aren't good for you? Did anyone seriously think eating doughnuts was somehow not going be a dietary no-no? Were doughnut-eating customers so naive that when they were told these things were unhealthy they suddenly gave them up? If so, it might be a victory for public health awareness, but you have to wonder what kind of a rock Krispy Kreme's previous customers were under.

You want to root for Krispy Kreme to make a comeback, because really, we all like doughnuts. Sure they're not good for us, but neither is anything else that's truly fun in the world. Many of us secret doughnut lovers will be happy to put in some extra treadmill time if Krispy Kreme can come to grips with its deserters and continue to give us a standard glazed doughnut. Hang in there guys!

[Update 12-5-06, 12:00pm EST -- the trans fat ban has been passed -- there will no longer be any trans fat products used in NYC-area eateries come July 1, 2007]

New York City is set to ban the use of trans fats in restaurants soon if a new ordinance is passed today. Trans Fats taste very good but have been repeatedly shown to be damaging to health. Many chains like KFC and Taco Bell , both divisions of Yum! Brands , Inc. (NYSE:YUM) have recently said that they will ban the use of trans fats in their food offerings very soon and will replace the bad fats with other cooking alternatives that should leave little to no impact on taste -- but will be much more healthy for patrons.

While there are those who would like the choice of eating artery-clogging and health-damaging trans fats (for some strange reason), I'm glad to see a city like NYC -- which can be a large trend setter -- step up to the plate and consider a bad on a substance that is not good for anyone. Changing the food preparation process to one that does no use damaging fats to one that uses fats that are not damaging -- with negligible or no impact -- makes perfect PR and business sense.

Will this be a problem for fast food and restaurant chains that serve tons of food per day? While all this food may taste good, much of it is damaging to the health of patrons who eat it. This may contribute to the growing obesity problem in this country. I think it is all bout the *taste*. If restaurants can make this change and not change the taste of their foods (or barely change it), then the switch away from trans fats will be a non-event. If patrons sense a change in the taste of their favorite foods -- even knowing that what they eat is harmful to them -- then expect a litany of complaints to start flying from the gluttonous masses.

Post contributed by Eric Buscemi of theflyonthewall.com (subscription required)

Trans fats are the new scapegoat for the obesity epidemic in America and are quickly becoming the focus of health officials everywhere. New York City, for example, is proposing a ban on trans fats.

The biggest impact of this falls on fast food companies that use trans fat oils to cook, such as McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Burger King (BKC), Wendy's (NYSE: WEN) and Yum Brands' (NYSE: YUM) KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. So how is each company facing this issue?

Excellent
* Wendy's - The most proactive of all the fast-food chains, Wendy's switched to trans fat-free oil in August.
* Yum Brands - KFC announced in October that it will switch to trans fat-free oil by April, followed by a similar announcement by Taco Bell today. The decision to make the announcements a month apart was a shrewd one, giving the company two days of positive press and market reaction.

On The Fence
* McDonald's - CEO Jim Skinner has said the company was making "very good progress'" toward developing a healthier oil for their famous french fries, but has given timetable given for a switch in America. The company did, however, announce earlier this month that they would cut trans fats in Europe by 2008. This is a confusing message McDonald's is sending out.
* Burger King - Announced in October that it plans to begin testing trans fat-free oil in some restaurants within three months, but like McDonald's, did not put a timetable on a switch. The Creepy King was unavailable for comment.

For more details on trans fats, here is an excellent article from About.com.