Cargill to Supply new McDonald's Vegoil

MINNEAPOLIS - Sep 9/02 - SNS -- Cargill will supply McDonald's fast food restaurants with the cooking oil that reduces saturated fats and trans fatty acids (TFAs) in deep fried foods.

The new oil will reduce French fry TFA levels by 48%, reduce saturated fat by 16% and dramatically increase polyunsaturated fat by 167%. While the total fat content in the fries remains unchanged, health experts agree that reducing TFAs and saturates while increasing polyunsaturates is beneficial to heart health. Notably, McDonald’s French fries already had the lowest TFA and saturated fat levels in the national quick service restaurant (QSR) industry.

The national rollout of the product begins in October 2002 and will be completed by February 2003, according to an announcement by McDonald's. The Company plans to use the new oil to prepare McDonald’s French fries, Chicken McNuggets, Filet-O-Fish, Hash Browns and crispy chicken sandwiches.

When McDonald's approached Cargill about finding ways to reduce TFA and saturated fat in their French fries, a global team was assigned to respond, headed by food scientist Ram Reddy, PhD, Assistant Vice President of Cargill Dressings, Sauces and Oils-North America.

"To say it was a challenging undertaking would be an understatement," Reddy said in a statement published on the McDonald's web site. "McDonald's was asking us to hit ambitious nutritional targets while maintaining the product's unique taste and texture and ensuring it would work effectively in the potato factories' processes."

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