Krispy Kreme and Trans Fat

I love Krispy Kreme doughnuts (donuts) and was quite disappointed to find out they are made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, i.e., EVIL TRANS FAT! I emailed them a few months ago to express my concern, and they sent me a form email in return. Now that the FDA now mandates trans fat disclosure on nutritional labels, I emailed them again, attaching a Wall Street Journal article on the topic. Here is the second email I sent them [sans Wall Street Journal article]:

With regards to a previous email I sent you regarding trans fat in Krispy Kreme donuts, I am forwarding this Wall Street Journal article to you (see attached, I have ommitted a table) that highlights the dangers of trans fat and also documents the new labeling requirement that will come into effect 1/1/06.

The article specifically indicates that donuts have a significant amount of trans fat in them, and the table I ommitted lists Dunkin' Donut Glazed has 4g of trans fat, 2.5g of saturated fat, for a total of 6.5g of "bad fat".

I look forward to seeing an announcement from your company that you will be switching from trans fat to a healthier alternative in your baking process.

This time, they took the time to send me a more detailed response:

Dear Ms. Wu,

Thank you for your email.

We highly appreciate your feedback as well as your continued loyalty to Krispy Kreme. We do understand your concern for the way that Krispy Kreme makes our doughnuts and we thank you sending us that article.

Regarding your previous email, our doughnuts are cooked in 100% vegetable oil shortening, partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil. We quickly cook our doughnuts for just 45 seconds on each side.

Hydrogenated vegetable oils are an essential ingredient in many cereal and baked goods. In addition, trans-fatty acids, which are a result of hydrogenation, occur naturally in meat and milk. The use of a non-hydrogenated oil would generate a product noticeably different, in taste and texture, to the Krispy Kreme doughnuts our customers have enjoyed for sixty-five years.

We definitely have noted your concern and your request for Krispy Kreme to change the way that we make our doughnuts. We do thank you for your concern and we hope to be able to serve you again in the future.

I dispute the fact that trans fat is an "essential ingredient" in many cereal and baked goods, given that there are manufacturers who make these items without it. I hope the take my recommendation seriously.

Comments

[Krispy Kremer]

Down with KK!!!

[Prez Bush]

Lighten up and get a clue! They are DONUTS! They are supposed to taste good. Making them healthy but crappy tasting makes them irrelevant. Why don't you just watch your diet carefully, work out regularly, and then you can have a donut every so often as a reward without eating something that tastes like a horrid natural tofu cake...

[Senator Hillary "Miss Thang" Clinton]

It appears, once again, that W is missing the point. To suggest that Krispy Kreme doughnuts would not be just as tasty if non-hydrogenated oils or saturated fats were used is to be completely ignorant of this ever growing issue. Partially hydrogenated oils simply make the doughnut making process MUCH CHEAPER. Over the next few years, as consumer awareness grows regarding the deleterious effects of eating hydrogenated oils, companies will be forced to make the same products using costlier saturated fats rather than trans fats. Currently however, ignorance abounds, and we live in a time when people like Prez. Bush liken the use of super-fattening saturated fats, like butter, to making "something that tastes like a horrid natural tofu cake." Wake up! and smell the Krispy Kremes of tomorrow.

[boo]

krispy kreme is evil.i like donuts, but not anymore because they taste unlike i remember and kk i felt were small greasy with odd aftertaste.then i read about the oil--cottonseed oil dropped fertility sharply in china when they switched from soybean to cottonseed oil.its in chinese restaurants, in and out burger,pf changs when will it stop--i emailed and got a form reply--profit motives.we must tell all and insist they stop this madness--the media must be alerted.

[Trans hater]

uuuuuummmmm....Interesting comment about using trans fats for 65 years considering trans fats haven't been around that long. They want to use trans fats because they're much cheaper and allow the dog-nut to sit on the shelf for much longer.

[KIDA]

Stupid comment from the big KK Chiefs! It is most definately not an "essential Ingredient" Pumping Hydrogen through nasty Vegetable oil does not make it taste amazing! Its just a stupid cheap way to make shed-loads of extra cash from the comsumers, without a single bit of concern for our health.

[Melissa Line]

Lauren,

I love doughnut holes. Do you know of any national franchise that makes doughnuts without trans fats? I don't mind some saturated fat as I am underweight. I understand Starbucks has gone trans fat free but I don't believe they have doughnuts. Thanks, Melissa

[Eric]

Actually... trans fats have been around since the early 1900s but only recently have we known just how deadly these fats are. What Krispy Kreme said is a disgusting LIE. Trans fats taste no different from a natural fat. Hydrogenation does not change flavor but only melting points for an extended shelf life. I believe what KK said in this resonse is basically... "we don't care that our products kill people." Its true, a KK doughnut does more harm to your body than a CIG!
Thanks,
[email protected]

[payopusaviona]

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[Ian]

It appears that KK now uses 0 grams transfat. Still not sure if they use any hydrogenated oils (still possible with the 0 grams label). Anybody know?

[Randy]

Man, what a bunch of reactionary fools.

[Jeremy]

It's very disingenuous for KK to state that hydrogenated oils occur naturally, because what comes out of the hydrogenation process is shaped very differently (kinked) from any naturally occurring oil (smooth curve), and that makes all the difference. They are right about the texture though.

But now they've switched to a "0 transfats per serving" recipe which means no more hydrogenated oils, right? Umm, probably not...

Even the high end boutique doughnut shops in Beverly Hills that advertise they use no transfats still use hydrogenated oils, and I'll bet KK still uses them too. (Notice I said hydrogenated, not transfat.)

In mid-2004 the food industry began the changeover from what have now been dubbed "transfats" (*frowny face*) to another hydrogenated oil blend called interestified oils (IE) (*smiley face*) in which one fully hydrogenated molecule is chemically bonded to two unsaturated molecules to form a triglyceride. If it's fully hydrogenated then that's not considered a "transfat," and hence the *convenient* name change away from "hydrogenated."

Evil or not, KK is just part of the vast military-industrial food complex that feeds corn and soybeans into one side of a factory, and *voila* virtually anything you want comes out the other side.

At this rate, I suppose it will take only one hundred more years before our "independent media outlets" start informing us about the "potential health benefits" of the interestified versions of hydrogenated oils.

[sarcasm]
Interestified oils have already begun showing up on the labels of food products manufactured by your favorite multinational corporations! Look for them today!
[/sarcasm]

[Jeremy]

It's very disingenuous for KK to state that hydrogenated oils occur naturally, because what comes out of the hydrogenation process is shaped very differently (kinked) from any naturally occurring oil (smooth curve), and that makes all the difference. They are right about the texture though.

But now they've switched to a "0 transfats per serving" recipe which means no more hydrogenated oils, right? Umm, probably not...

Even the high end boutique doughnut shops in Beverly Hills that advertise they use no transfats still use hydrogenated oils, and I'll bet KK still uses them too. (Notice I said hydrogenated, not transfat.)

In mid-2004 the food industry began the changeover from what have now been dubbed "transfats" (*frowny face*) to another hydrogenated oil blend called interestified oils (IE) (*smiley face*) in which one fully hydrogenated molecule is chemically bonded to two unsaturated molecules to form a triglyceride. If it's fully hydrogenated then that's not considered a "transfat," and hence the *convenient* name change away from "hydrogenated."

Evil or not, KK is just part of the vast military-industrial food complex that feeds corn and soybeans into one side of a factory, and *voila* virtually anything you want comes out the other side.

At this rate, I suppose it will take only one hundred more years before our "independent media outlets" start informing us about the "potential health benefits" of the interestified versions of hydrogenated oils.

[sarcasm]
Interestified oils have already begun showing up on the labels of food products manufactured by your favorite multinational corporations! Look for them today!
[/sarcasm]

[L]

I have actually heard that trans fat makes products taste a little worse than they would if they didn't contain hydrogenated oils. It may slow down the spoilage rate but, it has a very bad old grease after taste in them. I eat many products without trans fat in them and immediately noticed the better taste.

[D]

Yet we still have trans-fats in Krispy Kreme Donuts today 7 years after the consumer's enlightenment.

[Siksan, the gourmet deity]

You guys are all missing one thing. Trans fat oil does make the final product taste the way it does. Take that away and Krispy Kreme will taste the same as home cooked doughnuts. Or perhaps instead of writing to US corporations to change the way they do business, we should stay at home more and prepare food the way we want them to be.