By CARL CAMPANILEThe New York Post
NEW YORK - It's time to change the doughnuts!
Mayor Bloomberg's proposed ban on trans fat would deep-fry doughnut giants Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme - unless they eliminate the artery-clogging oils from their addictive donuts.
While much of the debate over the planned ban has focused on hamburger or chicken joints, a Post review of doughnut shops' ingredients show they could be severely affected.
America may "run on Dunkin'," as the ads say, but Dunkin's doughnuts run on trans fat. Virtually the entire menu of three dozen doughnuts, muffins and cakes contain between 1.5 grams and 5 grams of trans fat apiece.
And nearly all of Krispy Kreme's 29 varieties contain trans fat - led by its Apple Fritter, with a whopping 7 grams. Most contain 4 or 5 grams.
The city Health Department said that shops that have their goods delivered from company factories would have till July 2008 to replace their trans fat.
Dunkin' Donuts is the more severely affected company. It has more than 300 stores in the five boroughs, accounting for roughly $170 million in sales each year.
Krispy Kreme has only two retail stores - one in Penn Station and another on the Upper East Side - but its doughnuts are sold in other eateries.
Dunkin' Donuts hinted it would comply with any ban that goes into effect.
"In fall 2004, Dunkin' Donuts acted independently to remove trans fats from our muffins and many of the items available at Dunkin' Donuts stores," the company said.
If you are eating a doughnut you really are not concerned about what it will do to your body in the first place. Muddy
ReplyDeleteThis is a toughie--while personal freedom is a good idea, it seems like there must be some way to deep-fry a piece of dough without imparting trans fats. Maybe Canola oil?
ReplyDeleteHeather: It's all extremely trendy right now. Everytime something get outlawed like that, manufacturers come up with something else to kill us that tastes good ;-)
ReplyDeleteMuddy: Yep, you're right. There's no such thing as a "low fat" donut, and I doubt anyone would want it if there was.
Crankster: There are several ways to fry without trans-fats. I think canola will work, but there's other ways to do it. KFC is rolling out new oil that cuts the trans-fats signifigantly.
Well, then...
ReplyDeleteI was working at McDonalds when they started rotating in vegetable shortening and rotating out lard. Yes, there's a slight taste difference, but it's not major enough to matter. If we can save a few lives with a minor change in oils, it seems stupid to avoid doing so.
I guess it's all due to medical research in a way. When they started using vegetable oil back in the day, it was because of concerns about cholesterol, which was the killer element back then. Further research into heart disease found that trans-fats were the bigger villian, and the fast food industry is starting to adjust.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad somebody is thinking about this stuff. Food is such a part of everybody's life that what we put in our bodies shouldn't kill us.
Trans Fats has got to go! This is one step in teh right direction for a healthier new york
ReplyDeleteIt’s been a while since I talked to you and I apologize. I didn’t meant to be so busy, but the combination of tax classes (passed with flying colors), computer based tax training (ongoing and boring), the holidays (fun but time consuming; I have no idea what I’ll be doing this time) and finally a trip back to New York over Thanksgiving weekend (too cool but went way too quickly) sealed my fate. In fact, this is the only day I don’t have anything scheduled until this Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, what I can squeeze out of the non-scheduled part of my life is going well. The family is doing fine, as I hope yours is. And my commitment to pursuing this tax thing again encouraged Kevin to try and get a job with Block as well, so for the first time in five years, he’s gainfully employed! God is good.