2008 Woodie Awards
SCIENCE BRIEFS
Alexander Tingey
Issue date: 11/2/06 Section: Health
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KFC FOLLOWS TREND, DROPS TRANS FATS
KFC announced last week to the Associated Press that it would begin to remove the use of trans fatty oils in its original, extra crispy and potato wedge recipe. This move is a response to the national scrutiny of trans fats in high traffic cooking areas.
Recently, New York City announced that it would consider banning some trans fats within certain areas of the city.
KFC President Gregg Dedrick said there would be no change in the taste of the chicken and other food items. "There is no compromise," he said at a Manhattan news conference. "Nothing is more important to us than the quality of our food and preserving the terrific taste of our product," reported the AP.
One item that has not been announced as part of the changes are the restaurant's biscuits. These will still be made with some trans fat, as no other alternative is currently available to substitute.
Currently, changes are only planned for the United States, as the foreign counterparts of the restaurant will retain their current recipes for now.
Trans fats are responsible for the consequent rise in "bad" cholesterol and HDL levels in the blood. This rise of artery clogging material is one of the major causes of heart disease which is responsible for 30,000 deaths annually.
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TAINTED FOOD MAKES HEADLINES AGAIN
Eighteen states have reported over 117 salmonella infections in the past few weeks and the recent outbreak is puzzling officials. The outbreak was likely caused by tainted produce, lettuce or tomatoes, yet no one brand, restaurant or supermarket has been pinpointed as the source, yet.
While no one has died of salmonella from this outbreak to date, it is still worrying as the E. coli outbreak a few weeks ago left the country reeling in surprise of what was on their plates.
"We're very early in the investigation," said Dave Daigle, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the AP. "Most of the cases are in adults, and more than 60 percent are women, said Dr. Chris Braden, a CDC epidemiologist investigating the outbreak."
Salmonella is identified by the particular strain that affects a given population. In Massachusetts, the largest concentration of illness occurred as the state reported more than 20 cases of the illness.
Salmonella occurs naturally in soil water, and on some of our more commonly purchased food items such as eggs and raw poultry.
One problem with the recent outbreak is that the strain of salmonella being reported is one of the most common and often difficult to identify strains. This has caused the Centers for Disease Control in Washington to issue an investigation into the source and probable cause for the infections.
KFC announced last week to the Associated Press that it would begin to remove the use of trans fatty oils in its original, extra crispy and potato wedge recipe. This move is a response to the national scrutiny of trans fats in high traffic cooking areas.
Recently, New York City announced that it would consider banning some trans fats within certain areas of the city.
KFC President Gregg Dedrick said there would be no change in the taste of the chicken and other food items. "There is no compromise," he said at a Manhattan news conference. "Nothing is more important to us than the quality of our food and preserving the terrific taste of our product," reported the AP.
One item that has not been announced as part of the changes are the restaurant's biscuits. These will still be made with some trans fat, as no other alternative is currently available to substitute.
Currently, changes are only planned for the United States, as the foreign counterparts of the restaurant will retain their current recipes for now.
Trans fats are responsible for the consequent rise in "bad" cholesterol and HDL levels in the blood. This rise of artery clogging material is one of the major causes of heart disease which is responsible for 30,000 deaths annually.
*********************
TAINTED FOOD MAKES HEADLINES AGAIN
Eighteen states have reported over 117 salmonella infections in the past few weeks and the recent outbreak is puzzling officials. The outbreak was likely caused by tainted produce, lettuce or tomatoes, yet no one brand, restaurant or supermarket has been pinpointed as the source, yet.
While no one has died of salmonella from this outbreak to date, it is still worrying as the E. coli outbreak a few weeks ago left the country reeling in surprise of what was on their plates.
"We're very early in the investigation," said Dave Daigle, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the AP. "Most of the cases are in adults, and more than 60 percent are women, said Dr. Chris Braden, a CDC epidemiologist investigating the outbreak."
Salmonella is identified by the particular strain that affects a given population. In Massachusetts, the largest concentration of illness occurred as the state reported more than 20 cases of the illness.
Salmonella occurs naturally in soil water, and on some of our more commonly purchased food items such as eggs and raw poultry.
One problem with the recent outbreak is that the strain of salmonella being reported is one of the most common and often difficult to identify strains. This has caused the Centers for Disease Control in Washington to issue an investigation into the source and probable cause for the infections.
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