KFC sued for trans fat menu

A retired Maryland physician is suing KFC over claims the oil the restaurant-chain fries its chicken and other menu items in is high in trans fat.

Arthur Hoyte of Rockville, Md., is the plaintiff in a suit filed in Superior Court of the District of Columbia Tuesday that wants KFC to either stop using partially hydrogenated oil or post signs that read "KFC's fried chicken and certain other foods contain trans fat, which promotes heart disease."

KFC officials deny they do anything wrong and although KFC hasn't broken a law with its recipe, the Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal reports the plaintiffs think the chain should be straight-up with customers.

The suit claims KFC's menu is abnormally higher in trans fat than other fast-food outlets and restaurants. Eighty percent of U.S. trans fat intake is from partially hydrogenated oil. Trans fats reduce healthy cholesterol and drastically raise harmful cholesterol which is attributed to 50,000 deaths a year.

If the plaintiffs win the suit it would only be binding on Washington-area KFC restaurants.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International