In the space of two weeks, partially hydrogenated oils with trans fats were dumped by the Wendy's hamburger chain, named in a lawsuit against the KFC fried chicken chain, and assigned to the nutritional doghouse by the American Heart Association.

It wasn't long ago that most Americans were oblivious to the widespread presence in their diets of trans fats. Cookies, chips, crackers, french fries -- if the food was processed with oil, chances were good it contained trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils.

In recent years, health professionals have sounded alarms about trans fats, noting they offer no nutritional benefits and raise cholesterol levels, thereby increasing the risk of heart disease.
On Jan. 1, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began requiring most packaged foods to disclose the amount of trans fats on nutrition labels. This summer, the war on trans fats has continued to sizzle.

"There's clearly a lot of momentum to get trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils out of the food supply," said Jeff Cronin, communications director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington D.C., nutrition watchdog group.

On June 8, Wendy's announced it was switching to non-hydrogenated cooking oil for its french fries and breaded chicken items. It marked the first time a big fast food chain said goodbye to an oil revered for its versatile cooking properties, Cronin said.

Six days later, the Center for Science in the Public Interest sued KFC, seeking to stop the chain from using partially hydrogenated oil in its foods. And last week, the American Heart Association issued new diet and lifestyle recommendations that for the first time specify a strict limit on trans fat intake.

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