Shaanxi Provincial Health Department disclosed that American fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken has added oil filtering powder into its frying oil to allow the oil to be reused, but this may affect the health of customers.
In response, Yum! China, the parent company of KFC, announced that the oil filtering powder will not do any harm to diners' health. The oil filtering powder is a food processing additive added to frying oil to help the oil become clear after food frying.
It has little effect on the food, but the experts in Shaanxi Province says that the nutrition of the frying oil will be affected when the additive is used repeatedly. Also the heat will cause the powder to oxidize with the frying oil, which can adversely affect health.
Yum! China says that the oil filtering powder in KFC is called Magnesium Trisilicate and has been approved by the World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to be used in food processing. KFC has been using Magnesium Trisilicate as an aid for filtering the oil since 1999.
