8/1/07 (Lexington Herald-Leader) ATLANTA - Unhappy customers started calling soon after McDonald's announced plans in 2002 to reduce trans fats in french fries.

They no longer liked the taste of the fries. Ditto for the oil. They missed one key fact, though: McDonald's hadn't introduced the revamped fries yet. In fact, the fast-food giant still is searching for a trans fat-free oil that won't change the taste of its famous fries.

Tinkering with a favorite food, or even the mere suggestion of it, carries risks. That's true even when the changes are good for customer health. Trans fats add texture, freshness and flavor. But they also raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol, making them even more dangerous than saturated fats, some researchers say.

Consumers had no way of knowing how much artery-clogging synthetic trans fats they were consuming until last January, when federal regulators required manufacturers to start listing them on their products. Many food companies, such as Kraft Foods and Unilever, chose to remove the fats rather than label them.

The American Heart Association recommends getting no more than 1 percent of daily calories from synthetic trans fats. That's about 2 grams for a 2,000-calorie diet.

Harvard University scientists estimate that eliminating synthetic trans fats from the food supply would prevent as many as 72,000 heart attacks every year in the United States.

Figures like those are fostering change. New York City plans to begin banning trans fats in restaurants in July. Chicago, Seattle and others are considering it. Some states are following suit. Restaurant chains from KFC to Starbucks are working to remove the unhealthy oils.

The New York City ban should hasten the removal of trans fats from chain restaurant offerings. The main reason: Many chain restaurants use the same suppliers and cooking methods in all locations, so it's simpler and cost-saving to make changes companywide.

Large chains also are more likely to disclose nutritional information to customers, some of whom are learning to pay attention to trans fats when they dine as well as when they shop for groceries. And consumer groups have filed a handful of lawsuits over trans fats.

As many of the country's largest restaurant chains scramble to replace trans fats in their best-loved items, some are learning from what happened to McDonald's.

Atlanta-based Arby's quietly started testing trans fat-free cooking oil last year. Ed Gleich, senior vice president of concept development, says a panel of customers approved its new fries on the first taste test.

With that vote of confidence, the company rolled out the trans fat-free oil in local restaurants, then switched out the deep fryers in all its Southeastern stores in the fall.

Jason Nealey of Acworth eats at Arby's every week and hasn't noticed a change in the Curly Fries. He said he grabs lunch where convenient, without much regard for healthy offerings.

"It isn't that big a deal to me," Nealey said. "People are going to eat what tastes good. But if it tastes the same, and it's healthier, great."

Arby's plans a national rollout of the trans fat-free oil by May, and when it completes the switch, 70 percent of its offerings will have less than .5 grams of trans fats per serving. The switch for fries was relatively simple because the healthier oil tasted much like the original.

But there's more work to do: The company still is trying to get the trans fats out of its turnovers without noticeably changing the texture. It's trickier to change the recipe for baked goods than fried foods.

Synthetic trans fats have been popular with food processors for decades as a cheap way to add shelf life to margarines and cooking oils, and crispness to everything from fried chicken to cookies.

"It's not a change that can happen overnight," said Sue Hensley, National Restaurant Association spokeswoman.

Chick-fil-A, based in College Park, Ga., has removed trans fats from its burritos and the buttery oil on its chicken sandwich. But after three years the chain is still working on cinnamon clusters and biscuits, in part because Chick-fil-A has told suppliers it does not want to increase saturated fats, so no palm oil in the pastries.

"It's harder to find a replacement to still give that texture that people like, especially with the biscuits," said Jodie Worrell, the company's nutrition consultant.

When Panera Bread, based in Richmond Heights, Mo., substituted the trans fats in its baked goods, it chose butter and palm oil. Customers say they prefer the new, buttery taste, says Director of Bakery Development Tom Gumpel.

Panera wanted to keep the flavor the same or improve it, he says. "Truthfully, I don't want anybody to recognize the change. It's like somebody changing the Coca-Cola recipe. There goes the brand."