2/11/06 (NSTO)  -  KUALA LUMPUR: KFC products in Malaysia are devoid of unhealthy trans fats.

Instead, the "finger-lickin’ good" chicken is fried using palm oil, said KFC Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd.

"In Malaysia, KFC uses palm oil and KFC products do not contain trans fat. This was confirmed by a recent test conducted by an independent laboratory on KFC products," it said in a statement.

"We want to reassure everyone that our chickens and chicken products are perfectly safe to consume."

KFC Holdings was responding to the announcement by KFC in the US on Monday that it was removing trans fats from all but a handful of items in its 5,500 restaurants there.

Trans fats, which has been linked to coronary heart disease, are produced when liquid oil is turned into solid fat during a high-temperature process called hydrogenation.