By Richard Mitchell, Editor
The movement to eliminate trans fats from diets is extending to supermarket delis.
The New York City Council last year gave a major boost to healthy eating by passing a law that phases out the use of artificial trans fat in foodservice establishments that are required to hold a New York City Health Department permit. They include restaurants, caterers, mobile-food vending units and mobile food commissaries.
Beginning July 1, establishments may not use partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, shortenings or margarines for frying, pan-frying (sautéing), grilling or as a spread unless they have product labels or other documents from the manufacturer showing that the ingredients contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving.
The regulation on July 1, 2008 will also extend to oils and shortenings for deep frying cake batter and yeast dough.
New York’s move was perhaps the highest-profile of the initiatives being launched by governments and corp-orations to expel trans fats from foods. A trans fat ban also was passed by the Philadelphia City Council in February and other major cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles, are considering or moving to implement similar action.
More fast-food and casual restaurants, meanwhile, including Wendy’s, Taco Bell and KFC, also are switching to trans fat-free cooking oils.
And the trend is extending to foods prepared in super-market delis. Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., for instance, recently completed the switch to trans fat-free cooking oils in more than 2,400 of its Supercenter and Neighborhood Market locations.
The outlets use oils to cook such foods as chicken, potato wedges, corn dogs, country steak, apple pie, cheese curds, breaded okra, catfish and hush puppies.
Signs informing shoppers of the oil switch are being situated in the lower right windows of display cases, the company reports.
Cincinnati-based The Kroger Co., the second-largest U.S. supermarket operator behind Wal-Mart, also is using trans fat-free oil to fry chicken. Kroger banners include City Market, Dillons, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, King Soopers, QFC, Ralphs and Smith’s.
In addition, smaller retailers, such as Omaha-based No Frills Supermarkets Inc., which operates 16 warehouse stores in Nebraska and Iowa, are converting to trans fat-free cooking oils as well.
Analysts say delis that offer trans-fat free products are better able to compete with foodservice outlets in attracting customers seeking healthy hot and cold prepared meals.
“The trans fat-free trend has picked up steam,” says Bob Goldin, executive vice president of Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based food industry research and consulting firm. “Most major restaurant chains have announced or are planning to make the change, and it will extend to delis. They see it as an insurance policy.”
The foodservice activity comes on the heels of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration mandate that requires all food labels to list the amount of trans fat in products.
Trans unsaturated fatty acids, or trans fats, are solid fats produced artificially by heating liquid vegetable oils in the presence of metal catalysts and hydrogen. The procedure, known as partial hydro-genation, is intended to make oils more solid and extend the shelf life of baked products and fry life of cooking oils, while adding texture to foods.
However, trans fat is the most dangerous type of dietary fat. Medical experts say trans fat increases bad (LDL) cholesterol and lowers good (HDL) cholesterol, and has no known health benefits.
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health state that removing trans fats from the U.S. industrial food supply could prevent tens of thousands of heart attacks and cardiac deaths each year.
“Because partially hydrogenated fats can be eliminated from the food supply by changes in processing that do not require major efforts in education and behavioral modification, those changes would be an extremely efficient and rapid method for substantially reducing rates of coronary disease, Harvard reports.
More retailers, meanwhile, are making the switch. No Frills Supermarkets, for instance, last year began cooking with trans fat-free oils in its in-store delis and restaurants to differentiate the outlets from competitors and appeal to heath-conscious shoppers, says Kevin Hennessy, vice president of perishables.
No Frills uses Nutra-Clear NT™ trans fat-free cooking oil from White Plains, N.Y.-based Bunge Ltd. to prepare such foods as fried chicken, fried mushrooms, fried cauliflower, tortilla chips and French fried potatoes.
Hennessy says the trans fat-free oil is about 40 percent more expensive than conventional cooking oil, but also has about a 50-percent longer fry life.
The chain promotes its trans fat-free activity to shoppers with static clings at chicken counters and table tents at in-store restaurants.
No Frills advertising circulars also state that, “All Our Chicken is fried with ZERO Trans Fat Frying Oil.”
Hennessy says fried chicken sales are up since the stores switched oils, though he is not certain that the higher revenues are related to the change.
He notes that the greatest challenge was getting deli personnel to adapt to new cooking procedures. To extend the life of trans fat-free oils, for instance, associates must consistently skim particles—such as chicken breading—from the substance after cooking, and also remember to turn fryers down or off when not in use.
“It’s a long educational process that requires a lot of training,” Hennessy notes, adding that Bunge representatives worked with store managers on implementation.
He adds that many outlets have cut oil changes by up to 50 percent since switching to Nutra-Clear NT™, saving on product and labor costs.
Nutra-Clear NT™ features Omega-9 fatty acids and was developed by Indianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences. The oils are made from canola and sunflower seeds. In addition to being trans fat-free, they are low in saturated fat and formulated for a longer shelf life and to generate better-tasting foods, says David Dzisiak, Dow AgroSciences commercial leader for oils.
He says Dow is leveraging Omega-9 fatty oils because the company believes they are more stable than other trans fat free-solutions, such as regular soybean or corn oils. Greater oxidated stability prevents oils from breaking down and creating a metallic taste in food.
Dow now is focusing on producing oils that are free of saturated fats and have even higher degrees of stability for greater fry life, Dzisiak says.
While Dow’s trans fat-free products are being leveraged by such additional food merchandisers as Indianapolis-based Marsh Supermarkets LLC and Orlando-based Darden Restaurants Inc.—operator of Red Lobster and Olive Garden outlets—many other retailers still are reluctant to switch oils, he notes.
Some delis, he says, are concerned about product shortages.
“It takes time to build a supply chain because farmers have to grow the ingredients and get them through a distribution system,” Dzisiak notes. “Merchants also may believe that the trans fat movement is a fad like the Atkins diet. But consumers are more aware of the situation and are asking for trans fat-free products.”
Terry Splane, vice president of marketing for Ventura Foods LLC, a Brea, Calif.-based manufacturer of trans fat-free frying oils and shortenings, agrees that stronger shopper demand for healthier foods is driving the change.
“Companies know it’s the right thing to do for consumers and their businesses,” he says.
Ventura Foods’ line of zero trans fat products includes Mel-Fry® Free Premium Oils, Phase® Butter, Kaola® Shortening, SunGlow® Butter Blend, Pride® Whipped Spreads and Gold-n-Sweet® Margarines and Spreads, as well as salad dressings, sauces, mayonnaise, soup and flavor bases and pan coatings.
The supplier is emphasizing premium products that typically have a fry life of 125 to 135 hours, compared to 75 to 80 hours for commodity items, Splane says He adds that while many retailers have not yet committed to trans fat-free oils, the “tide is growing every day. Delis departments have a greater level of awareness about trans fats.”