Another transfat free chain

Yet another fast food chain has recently announced that they

will go trans fat free in their cooking oil. Burger King is the 

latest to join the anti-trans fat trend; they even stated that

they had already starting using trans fat free oil in several

hundred of their 7100 restaurants and will do so in all of 

them. I am pretty sure that we are witnessing a positive

trend here, with all these chains announcing how they have

seen the importance of going trans fat free. Not to sound

cynical, but could it be that some of these companies are

enjoying the publicity they attract when they announce

that they are following more health conscious choices? 

Maybe one company gets jealous when another announces

menu alterations? Whatever the case may be, these are all 

instances where change is indeed good. 

A couple of food notes

As y'all know, being a restaurant maven, I am always on the lookout
for food news stories. A couple of tidbits popped up on my radar at the
end of last month. First, there has been yet ANOTHER food recall.
The FDA announced that certain firms of Italian olives may have been
contaminated with a bacteria that could cause botulism. (a type of
poisoning that causes the muscles to be become weak; other symptoms
can be difficulty swallowing, breathing, speaking, and blurred vision.)
The affected olives appear to have all been bottled by Charlie Brown
di Rutigliano & Figli. Ok, di Rutigliano & Figli sounds Italian, but where
did Charlie Brown come from?!? Not a type of name that you would
with olives, but with kites, footballs, and little red haired girls! Anyway,
carefully read labels to make sure these folks didn't bottle the olives
you just picked up. On a positive note, YUM Brands, a food company
that owns Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John
Silvers, and A&W, recently announced that it has stopped using trans
fat in all KFC and Taco Bell restaurants. I have seen the new KFC
television ads where they trumpet the news. YUM is still working on
getting rid of the trans fat from their other restaurant menus as well.
This will not rid the U.S. of the rampant obesity and heart disease
problems, but hey, it is a start. Getting rid of trans fat does not mean
that other fats have disappeared...NOT. In any case, I am sure it will
just be a matter of time before all food firms fall in line.

#200 - all about the Girl Scout Cookies!

Believe it or not, Not Your Everyday News has just hit yet another
milestone - post #200! And I feel that I have definitely kept in line
with the title of my blog, I mean, after all, different kinds of beers,
the antics of the Dutch, Anna Nicole Smith scandals, my drama
plagued restaurant staff AND clientele, and naturally my fascinating
friends have provided me with fuel to keep this engine going. Plus
I can count on news headlines to fill in any blanks I may have; some
food or food service chain is bound to make someone sick, or a new
politician entering the national scene will definitely send us scurrying
for the Tums and Pepto! But I do have a bit of good news to report
today - Girl Scouts of the USA have announced that their delicious
cookies are now almost trans-fat free! The 2 bakeries that make the
cookies conducted numerous experiments on the recipes and found
that the flavor and texture were not compromised with the changes.
The Girl Scouts do acknowledge that most cookie varieties still have
partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, the primary source of trans-fat,
but as the amount is less than 1/2 a gram, they qualify for a zero
trans-fat label under FDA rules. The cookies are still high in sugar
and saturated fats, so they are certainly not a health food, and thus
must be eaten in moderation. hhhmmmm, when it comes to those
yummy Tagalongs, that might be easier said than done!