hankyoreh

Chicken and french fries sold by U.S. hamburger chain McDonald's Corp contain more trans fats than those in other fast food chains in South Korea, a food regulator said Monday.

Trans fats, a type of fat found in some fast foods, cakes and biscuits, is considered harmful to human health and is believed to increase heart disease.

Fries sold by McDonald's contain 1.6 grams of trans fats per 100-gram serving, according to the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Of the nation's top five fast food brands, Burger King and KFC came second with 1.3 grams each, followed by Popeyes with 1 gram and Lotteria with 0.7 gram, the regulator said in its regular survey.

The survey was conducted between April 16 and May 1 in Seoul as part of the regulator's "campaigns to strengthen food health and safety for children," the KFDA said in a statement.

Starting in December, the regulator will toughen measures on the use of trans fats, requiring companies to list all trans fats in their products, according to the statement.

In South Korea, McDonald's has been accused of what some critics say a weaker set of guidelines against the use of trans fats compared with the company's U.S. standards, according to some media reports.

Officials at McDonald's Korea's public relations team weren't immediately available for comment.
SEOUL, May 14 (Yonhap News)