KFC Corp. will cook its Kentucky fried chicken in oil with less harmful fat, amid concerns that New York City is trying to ban artery-clogging trans fat in the city's eateries.
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    According to media reports, the fast food chain on Monday will unveil plans to switch to a new soybean oil from a partially hydrogenated oil by April and eliminate the artery-clogging trans fats in its fried chicken sold in the U.S.

    Monday's news comes the same day the New York City Board of Health is to host a first public hearing to consider a citywide ban on the sale of restaurant food made with trans fats.

    The NYC proposal has eateries scrambling for ways to get the substance out of their food. KFC, after hearing the news, said in a statement Oct. 26 that it plans to make an announcement in New York Monday about a "significant change" at its 5,500 U.S. restaurants.

    Trans fats are so common now that Americans eat 4.7 pounds of trans fat per year on average per person, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

    In June, a Maryland doctor sued the company, seeking 74,000 U.S. dollars for each customer who wasn't warned about trans fats.

    Wendy's International Inc., the third-largest U.S. hamburger chain, became the first national chain to stop cooking with the fats in August. McDonald's Corp. and Walt Disney Co. also have reduced the use of the harmful fats.

    (Agencies)