Dunkin', Baskin-Robbins set to purge trans fats

Nation's Restaurant News,  Sept 3, 2007  

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CANTON, MASS. -- Dunkin' Donuts' said it will switch Oct. 15 to a trans-fat-free frying oil and and introduce 50 reformulated menu items whose trans-fat content will be less than 0.5 grams per serving.

Dunkin' Brands Inc. also said its wholly franchised, 5,838-store Baskin-Robbins ice cream chain will shed trans fats by Jan. 1.

Dunkin' Donuts spent four years evaluating 28 oil options before selecting a palm-soybean-cottonseed blend, the franchisor of 7,293 doughnut shops said.

The chain conducted consumer tests over four months at about 400 U.S. Dunkin' Donuts units and already has deployed the oil in Philadelphia and New York City.

Separately, in what Dunkin' Donuts called the biggest expansion deal in its 57-year history, the franchisor has granted rights for the development of 105 new outlets to Heartland Coffee Co. of Pittsburgh. Those branches would start to open there and in surrounding Allegheny County within 18 months, expanding the chain's current 10-store presence there.

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