Chick-fil-A, Burger King stop using trans fat oil

Chick-fil-A has eliminated artificial trans fat from its menu, the Atlanta-based chicken chain said Thursday.

The announcement came the same day that Miami-based Burger King said it was cooking with trans-fat free oils. All menu ingredients also would have zero grams of artificial trans fat by Nov. 1, Burger King said.

Scientific evidence has shown that trans fat increases the risk of heart disease. The FDA started requiring trans fat to be listed in food labels in 2006.

Chick-fil-A’s core menu items have been trans-fat free since the first restaurant opened 41 years ago, Chick-fil-A said. Its chicken sandwich, nuggets and strips are cooked in refined peanut oil that’s naturally trans-fat free.

For the past two years, the chain has been working to take trans fat out of other items, such as fries, desserts and biscuits. It expects restaurants nationwide to be serving a new trans-fat free recipe for its biscuits by the end of October.

Chick-fil-A’s cheesecake still has a half-gram of naturally occurring trans fat. Most trans fat is artificially created during hydrogenation, a process that extends the shelf life and flavor of food.