While many restaurant chains, including Arby's, have made the switch to trans fat-free cooking oils, one local Richmond, Va.-based Arby's franchise is taking healthy eating to the next level by eliminating even saturated fats from its menu.
Arby's franchisee The Restaurant Co. has converted all 19 of its Arby's restaurants in the Richmond-Petersburg area to Nutra-Clear NT, part of the Omega-9 Oils family. Compared to other zero trans fat oils, Omega-9 Canola Oils, developed by Dow AgroSciences and produced by Bunge, are healthier because they have the lowest saturated fat among cooking oils. Omega-9 Oils also are uniquely high in heart-healthy monounsaturated (omega-9) fat.
"Eliminating trans fats was only the first step," said Richard Ripp, president of The Restaurant Co. "The American Heart Association says both trans fat and saturated fat increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, so we didn't want to just substitute one bad fat for another. That's why we've switched to an oil that has the lowest level of saturated fats."
Ripp said that another deciding factor in switching oils was the fact that the new oil didn't change the taste profile of the menu items. After extensive testing of the oil, Ripp converted all of his Arby's restaurants in the Richmond-Petersburg area to Nutra-Clear NT cooking oil last month.
One of Arby's earliest franchisees, Ripp joined the company as a franchisee just four years after Arby's was founded in 1964. The Restaurant Co. operates five of the top 10 performing Arby's in the country. A leader and innovator in the Arby's system, Ripp was among the first to add french fries to the Arby's menu and was the creator of many unique Arby's sandwiches that can still be found on menus today.
