Starbucks, the US-based multinational coffeehouse chain, has
promised to cut trans fats from its doughnuts, muffins and other
treats in more than 200 coffeehouses in China.
Eden Woon, vice president of Starbucks China, made the
announcement after the company publicized plans to cut trans fats
in half of its US stores this week.
Starbucks China would make every effort to cut the trans fats in
all its stores and had started to avoid procuring food containing
trans fats.
Trans fats, listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated
vegetable oil, are believed to be harmful to cholesterol
levels.
Starbucks China would replace food containing the trans fats
with no effect on overall prices of its products, said Woon.
However, Starbucks had no timetable to cut trans fats in
China.
"Different providers provide different food in different stores
all over China and customers' tastes are different. It takes time
to completely cut trans fats in all the stores in China," said
Woon.
Trans fat is still a new word in China and the authorities have
made no moves to regulate the use of trans fats in restaurant food,
said an official with the National Grain and Oil Standardization
Committee.
The Nasdaq-listed Starbucks has more than 12,000 outlets in
North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the
Pacific Rim.
It opened its first outlet in Beijing in 1999 and now has more
than 200 stores in 20 mainland cities.
(Xinhua News Agency January 5, 2007)
