In terms of fried foods, fried appetizers still rank as some of the most popular items on menus according to Food Beat (2006).

Obviously fried foods remain highly popular with patrons. But with growing health concerns fueled by extensive media coverage, operators have a dilemma: how to satisfy the patron’s desire for fried foods in the most healthful way.

One of the biggest menu trends fueled by health concerns relates to the use of cooking oils containing trans fats. These fats are created during the processing (hydrogenation) of oils. A new federal government regulation requiring manufacturers to list trans fats on nutrition panels doesn’t yet apply to foodservice products. However, operators know they share responsibility for providing good food that can be part of a healthy diet. Since fried foods are a potential source of dietary trans fats depending on the oils used to manufacture and fry them, many foodservice operations are switching to trans-fat free oils to improve the healthfulness of their fried menu items. Wendy’s recently announced that it is now cooking French fries and chicken in a blend of soy and corn oil that’s almost free of trans fats.

Chain officials say the move will decrease the trans fat content of a medium order of fries from 6 grams to half of one gram. The American Heart Association recommends that trans fat intake be limited to less than 1% of total calories. Recently, the city of New York took on the task of requiring restaurants to stop serving foods containing trans fats. The challenge is to reduce trans fats without cutting taste.

One alternative gaining interest is an oil called low-linoleic soybean oil, made from a specially-bred soybean. It was designed specifically to replace partially hydrogenated oils and can be used alone or in blends with other vegetable oils that have low or no trans fats to decrease or even eliminate trans fats in the foods fried in it. To learn more about the benefits of soy oil and apply for a free sample case visit www.zerotrassoy.com.

Other oils, such as canola, safflower, sunflower and olive can replace hydrogenated oils in a variety of applications. For more information on the attributes of different oils, refer to The 4 Factors for Fit Frying section.

The bottom line is: there are many food, oil and equipment solutions available to move foodservice operations toward Fit Frying.