McDonald’s Corp. has completed its changeover to cooking oil with no trans fat at its restaurants in the US and Canada.
The world’s largest restaurant chain, McDonald’s, is now cooking French fries, hash browns, Filet-O-Fish sandwiches and chicken in a blend of canola, corn and soybean oils at outlets throughout the United States and Canada.

Chief Executive Jim Skinner said at the company’s annual meeting in Illinois last month that these items are now considered to have zero grammes of trans fat per serving; some items may still contain a trace amount of the substance, though it is negligible. McDonald’s plans to finish converting pies and cookies so they also qualify as free of trans fat by year end.

McDonald’s lagged behind other large restaurant chains in removing trans fat from its menu. The company has been trying to switch cooking oils for several years but cited its massive system and concern for not changing the taste of its French fries as reasons for the slow change. It has been using the new cooking oil in restaurants for months. McDonald’s got rid of the artery-clogging fat amid pressure from health advocates. New York City also has essentially banned it from restaurants.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, company executives said the company is eating some of the cost of higher ingredients instead of passing them entirely on to consumers. In the US, McDonald’s same-store-sales growth has softened this year as consumers have spent more cautiously.

“This is not the time for us to be moving off everyday affordability,” Skinner said, adding that he is ‘optimistic’ about sales for the rest of the year. The company plans to open about 200 new restaurants in the US this year.
Executives said they have no plans to move away from McDonald’s Dollar Menu, which accounts for about 14 per cent of its sales. Some franchisees have complained that the cheap menu is no longer profitable.

Ralph Alvarez, the company’s president and chief operating officer, said McDonald’s hasn’t been directly affected by food shortages overseas.
“We’ve been even more careful to make sure we’ve assured supply,” he said.
Executives also said the fast-food chain hasn’t changed its marketing plans for this summer’s Beijing Olympic Games as a result of activists who have tried to harness the games to spotlight human-rights issues.