Cholesterol-Free Oil For Your Next French Fry

CHICAGO - After a little prodding from a well-heeled health crusader, the nation's top hamburger chains agree: French-fry lovers need an oil change.

McDonald's Corp. and Wendy's International said yesterday they are switching to cholesterol-free, all-vegetable oil to cook their fries.

Burger King said last week it will no longer use beef tallow, the industry's previous standard oil for french-fry vats.

McDonald's has been a target of newspaper and TV ads placed by anti-cholesterol crusader Phil Sokolof, who accused the world's largest fast-food chain of poisoning Americans with fatty foods.

Sokolof, 66, a millionaire from Omaha, Neb., blames a high-cholesterol diet for a near-fatal heart attack 22 years ago.

In April, Sokolof placed ads headlined ``The Poisoning of America!'' in several major U.S. newspapers. The ads criticized McDonald's and other chains for cooking foods in beef tallow rather than using ``heart-healthy oils.''

McDonald's warned newspapers against printing Sokolof's ads, contending they were inaccurate.

Nutrition experts point out vegetable oils don't contain cholesterol, but certain kinds of vegetable oils contain saturated fats, which the body converts to cholesterol. Thus, eating ``cholesterol-free'' food doesn't necessarily protect a person from

cholesterol.