Healthier alternatives used by Dining Services

By Ahmed Kodouda
Writer

Bucknell Dining Services has removed trans-fatty acids, more commonly known as trans fats, from the cooking oil used in all its facilities since August 2005, beating the current national trend by over a year. Dining Services has been using canola oil, a non-trans fat oil, as the primary cooking oil instead.

“Trans fats are basically chemically-produced fats and currently are at the top of the list of ‘bad fats,” Dining Services employee Brian Ritchie said.

According to Ritchie, studies have shown that trans fats increase bad cholesterol while reducing good cholesterol. These effects are the reason for the concern and the media attention the issue is receiving.

“We have switched to using non-trans fat fryer oil. We currently use 100 percent natural canola oil, which has not been chemically modified and is low in saturated fat,” Ritchie said. “Food fried in saturated fats to me tastes heavier, just the cost is higher because it doesn’t last as long.”

On July 1, 2005, the University contracted Parkhurst Dining Services as the official University dining services provider. Parkhurst made the switch from trans fat to canola oil just one month after arriving at the University. It was an expensive venture but John Cummins, general manager of Bucknell Dining, assures students that they do not have to help carry the burden.

“The switch from trans fat to canola oil has been costly but it does not affect the students that we serve,” Cummins said. “Anything that we do, whether we have organic or local fruits or even going to trans fat-free oils, those costs are never passed on to the community in the resident dining program.”

An Aug. 17, 2005 press release from Parkhurst Dining Services announced the switch from trans fats to canola oil.

“We spent more than a year of research, development and testing to ensure we chose the highest quality product. We found a canola oil that was able to meet our high standards for flavor while providing zero trans fats and lower saturated fat,” said Brooks Broadhurst, vice president of purchasing for Parkhurst Dining Services.

“Our food will have a clean, fresh taste while delivering the health benefits of trans fat-free and lower saturated fat cooking,” the press release said.

Broadhurst said that many corporate, university and museum cafés served by Parkhurst are seeing this trend emerge because parents and young adults alike are interested in improving their health. In addition, corporate venues are seeking ways to provide healthier food for employees.

“New York City made trans fats illegal for restaurants to cook with a year and a half after we did it. We are a small company compared to some others but we’re very focused on community and are very concerned about the health of our customers,” Cummins said.

Students are pleased with Dining Services’ efforts to make their food healthier. “I think it was a very good decision to take trans fats out of Bucknell Dining’s oil. It shows that they truly care about our health,” Caitlin Farren ’10 said.

“[Bucknell Dining] has taken a really big step in terms of this issue and we did it very early on because we’re conscious of what we’re doing,” Cummins said. “Brian [Ritchie] has local connections for bagels and artisan breads that are locally produced and being able to support the local community is very important to us also.”

Philadelphia also banned trans fat early in February. New York City is phasing out all of artificial trans fat oils by July 2008.