Cholesterol

and Burger King Holdings Inc.

have also said they will phase out trans fat from their products.

KFC said the change in cooking oils will not change how its fried chicken tastes.

“We have safeguarded the recipe and the flavor profile,” said Doug Hasselo, KFC’s chief food innovation officer.

Hasselo said the new cooking oil costs more, but the chain will absorb the extra expense without passing it along to customers.

The zero grams trans fat items at KFC also include its potato wedges.

Some of KFC’s non-fried items still contain trans fat, including biscuits, pot pies, macaroni and cheese, and some desserts.

The company said it’s working to remove trans fat from those items.

KFC was unveiling television advertising Monday to promote its switch to cooking oil without trans fat.

KFC stores will put up signs touting the conversion, and the chicken buckets will carry the health message within a week or two.

The company won praise from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer group that pushed for KFC to switch to a healthier cooking oil.

“To get rid of this one major problem improves their customers’ health automatically, without the consumers doing anything,” said Michael Jacobson, the group’s executive director.

Customers at a KFC restaurant in the c...

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