Duffy's expects healthier oil to bring big cost, better taste

By Eve Samples
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 28, 2006

This new year, the local restaurant chain Duffy's Sports Grill has resolved to accomplish what fast-food giant McDonald's still has not: It will eliminate artery-clogging trans fat oils from its kitchens.

By Jan. 15, all 14 of the privately held Palm Beach Gardens-based company's restaurants will start dunking french fries and other crispy delights into vats of corn oil instead of the partially hydrogenated oil it's been using since the first Duffy's opened in 1985.


What of some restaurants' claims that food cooked in trans-fat-free oils isn't as flavorful?

"That's a lot of baloney," said Duffy's owner Paul Emmett, who also claimed that his company is the first local chain to take this step.

He believes the new oil, a Mazola corn product, actually improves the taste of Duffy's fries and other fried foods.

But the switch comes at a price: The oil costs about 30 percent more than Duffy's old trans fat product, Frymax.

That will add about $100,000 a year in expenses, Emmett estimates.

He decided to make the switch without doing any market research on the potential payoff for Duffy's, which expects about $45 million in sales next year.

"We're a small company. We operate intuitively," he said. "We hope that the public will recognize that this is a good thing, and that we'll be rewarded with some additional business. But even if we aren't, I think it's a good thing."

Trans fats form when liquid oils are converted into solids such as shortening and margarine. The food industry has embraced them over the years because they prolong the shelf life and enhance flavor of foods.

But leading health researchers say the fats raise so-called "bad" cholesterol levels and contribute to heart disease.

This month, New York became the first city to outlaw trans fats, and other major cities, including Chicago, are considering doing the same.

"I'm sure in the future, you'll find everybody going to this," Emmett said, "so I think we're just getting ahead of the curve."

Big chains making switch

Some big national restaurant chains also are moving to oust the oils.

After 18 months of testing, Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI, $40.50) of Orlando intends to replace trans fat oils with canola oil in more than 1,200 of its Olive Garden and Red Lobster eateries by November 2007.

Will it be more expensive?

"We do volume buying, so the change is not going to be material," Darden spokeswoman Deborah Robison said.

Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD, $44.33) announced in 2003 that it intended to stop using trans fat oils, but it has yet to follow through. The company said Wednesday it still is testing replacement oils.

Another major chain, KFC Corp., announced in October that it planned to stop cooking several menu items including chicken in trans fat oils, but it had not found a suitable alternative for its biscuits.

And on Monday, Universal Studios started cooking and frying with trans-fat-free oil at its theme parks in Florida and California. The parks aim to be free of all trans fats by the end of 2007.

Farmers under pressure

The National Restaurant Association in Washington, D.C., supports the shift away from trans fats, but spokeswoman Sue Hensley said it doesn't agree with the deadline imposed in New York, where about 24,000 restaurants will have 18 months to comply with the ban.

Now, oil producers are scrambling to provide enough alternative oils to meet the growing demand.

"What it comes down to is it's really a farm-to-table issue on the supply side," Hensley said. "And it takes time to develop the alternative crops, to plant and grow and harvest the alternative crops, and then to test the new oils."

Duffy's settled on Mazola's corn oil after testing about 10 trans-fat-free oils, including a Frymax version.

Both Frymax and Mazola are products of Memphis-based ACH Food Companies Inc.

Duffy's also plans to stop using any trans-fat-based margarines in its restaurants, though Emmett said the firm will not purge other foods that may contain partially hydrogenated oils.

Eliminating trans fats is typically a complex undertaking that requires restaurants to test new oil and shortenings with their recipes, Hensley said.

"It's a complicated process," she said, "but the industry really has been moving in the right direction over the last few years."