A meal containing a Spicy Leg, a Spicy Thigh, and a Honey-Butter Biscuit has 10 grams of trans fat. At one of those outlets, according to Church's nutrition information, it's easy to get five, 10, or even 15 grams of trans fat in a typical meal. Church's told CSPI that company-owned outlets use trans-fat-free oils everywhere, but that franchisee-owned stores (the majority of outlets) have the option of using artificial trans fat. 'At this point, Church's is standing almost alone in the chain restaurant world, while its responsible competitors, such as KFC, have eliminated artificial trans fat.'Ĭhurch's uses a trans-fat-free frying oil in California, New York City, and other jurisdictions where the use of artificial trans fat is curbed by law or local regulation. 'Fried chicken may never be a health food, but fry it in partially hydrogenated oil and you've basically weaponized it,' said CSPI executive director Michael F. In 2004, the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest urged the Food and Drug Administration to ban partially hydrogenated oil.

The Institute of Medicine recommends consuming as little as possible, and the American Heart Association recommends limiting trans fat to a maximum of two grams per day. But unlike saturated fats, artificial trans fat lowers one's HDL, the 'good' kind of cholesterol that reduces risk of heart disease. Like saturated fats, the artificial trans fat in partially hydrogenated oil raises one's LDL, or 'bad' cholesterol-the kind of cholesterol that promotes heart disease. Long after McDonald's, Burger King, Starbucks, KFC, and most other chains abandoned partially hydrogenated oil, Church's Chicken is still using the discredited ingredient, giving its meals dangerously high levels of artificial trans fat.

Churchs chicken