This month, KFC began providing its new plant-based menu merchandise, which it claims "seems to be and tastes like KFC's world-famous fried hen," at eating places throughout the U.S.
The plant-based "Past Fried Hen" nuggets had been rolled out in partnership with Past Meat, a soya- and pea-sourced protein producer, in response to rising client demand for meat-free, sustainable meals choices.
The Declare
"After an extremely profitable pilot with plant-based associate Lightlife in 2019, vegetarians and flexitarians in every single place can now expertise KFC's scrumptious style at their native restaurant," the corporate introduced on January 29.
The announcement has been met with usually constructive suggestions on social media, with customers praising KFC's new "vegan hen."
"pleased to announce: the VEGAN hen at kfc is sweet," one Twitter person wrote.
"So I attempted the vegan "hen" from kfc and I am going to admit it is not half unhealthy! This may be a great transition meals for these eager to go plant primarily based," wrote one other person.
However the brand new product has additionally sparked reputable questions from the vegan neighborhood as as to if the nuggets are certainly appropriate for vegans and vegetarians.
The Details
Whereas each vegetarian and vegan diets exclude meat and seafood, in addition to byproducts of animal agriculture resembling lard or gelatin, the latter additionally covers a broad vary of merchandise of animal origin, together with dairy, eggs and honey.
However issues turn into extra sophisticated in relation to the problem of "cross-contamination," which means that a vegan-friendly product is cooked in such a approach that it is available in contact or will get tainted by animal merchandise.
Whereas some vegans and vegetarians adhere to very strict definitions that forbid consumption of meals made in a non-vegan atmosphere, others are extra open to it, seeing it as a trade-off in shifting most people's preferences in direction of extra sustainable meals.
In order per the essential definition, the totally plant-sourced proteins making up the nuggets are certainly vegan- and vegetarian-friendly. However, as the corporate notes itself on its web site, the nuggets are, in actual fact, not vegan when served.
"It's NOT vegetarian, vegan, or Licensed Vegan. It's 100% plant-based, however they're ready in the identical fryers as our world-famous Kentucky Fried Hen, which might not be acceptable to sure forms of vegetarian or vegan diets," the KFC web site states.
A consultant for KFC responded to a Newsweek remark request, confirming that "all KFC substances, together with Past Fried Hen, are dealt with by staff in frequent fryers, which might not be acceptable to sure forms of vegetarian or vegan diets."
KFC does certainly provide really vegan-friendly choices, together with its Quorn-based Vegan Burger. Some have even known as for KFC to start out getting ready the nuggets in separate vegan-friendly cooking areas in order that such merchandise might be relabelled as vegan-friendly.
The nuggets might be appropriate for some vegetarians, or for these "having fun with a vegetarian and flexitarian way of life," as the corporate's announcement places it. However for now, with the identical amenities used for cooking animal and plant-based merchandise, that's not the case.
The Ruling
Largely False.
Whereas the brand new "Past Hen" nuggets are certainly totally meat-free, they aren't licensed as vegetarian or vegan pleasant due to how they're ready, in keeping with the KFC web site.
FACT CHECK BY NEWSWEEK
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