KFC, Taco Bell, the Big Apple and university dining halls have something in common -- they are looking to serve healthier food by eliminating trans fats.

During the spring 2007 semester, the dining halls on campus may be using trans fat-free fryer oil to cook some of students' favorite food items.

The Office of Food Services is in the process of testing four different fryer oils in McElwain Dining Hall over the course of the fall 2006 semester, said Lisa Wandel, associate director of the office.

"We want to be careful that we're not playing around with taste so we don't end up with something our customers don't like," Wandel said.

The School of Hospitality Management's Center for Food Innovation, located in the Mateer Building, conducted tests on six oils without trans fats to examine each for characteristics like appearance, durability and taste, Wandel said. After the preliminary testing, the selection was narrowed down to four fryer oils that will be put to the test next semester to determine which is the most popular with customers.

Each of the new oils will be used for two weeks at a time to determine if there are any concerns from customers about each one, Wandel said. She said she hopes to come out of the testing with several oils that customers like so the dining halls can have some options.

Describing french fries as "the big beast," Wandel said by tackling the fried favorite first, Food Services is taking a step in the right direction to make a complete conversion to Trans fat-free oils.

But there may be a cost to making the switch to the healthier fryer oil, Wandel said. She said Food Services must determine if the benefits of using the new, healthier oil outweigh the potential increase in the cost of meal plans.

"We have to look at cost, and if we find that there's a significant cost in zero trans fat, we have to look at what's more important," Wandel said.

Although KFC and Taco Bell recently reported making the change to healthier cooking oils, not all downtown restaurants are following suit.

Qdoba, 206 W. College Ave., leaves the choice to use trans fat-free oil is in the hands of the restaurant's supplier, said Jason Strange, Qdoba's general manager. Qdoba uses what its supplier sells to the restaurant, which includes trans fat-free oil and shortening, which contains two grams of trans fat.

Strange said the only way the restaurant's shortening would become trans fat-free would be if the supplier sold it to the restaurant.

"Our nutrition facts are posted online to see," Strange said. "People ask about [nutrition information] all the time, so if they want to find out about it they can."

Typically, trans fats come in processed foods like cookies, cakes, pastries, crackers and margarine and is similar to saturated fats in their effects on the body, said Jennifer Fleming, clinical dietician at Mount Nittany Medical Center.

"Trans fats in the body are very much like saturated fat, so they have the tendency to increase the risk of heart disease," Fleming said. "Saturated and trans fats tend to raise total cholesterol and particularly the bad cholesterol which is the LDL."

While a saturated fat contains all of its hydrogen, a trans fat is chemically derived by partial hydrogenation, which removes some of its hydrogen atoms, Fleming said.

To make many fat-free snack foods, Fleming said, manufacturers are limiting the foods' saturated fats. But as a result of the reduction of saturated fats, the amount of trans fats in these products increases, she added.

Fleming said by eating foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids instead of red meat, pork and poultry, people can lower their risk of heart disease. She added that people should keep their intake of trans and saturated fats to less than 15 grams a day.

Until a full switch to trans fat-free oils is complete, there are always options for healthier choices in the dining halls, Wandel said. Fruits and vegetables, soups, some deli meats and the salad bar items are some of the healthier options available in the dining commons, she added.

"If you're interested in something healthier, just ask," Wandel said.