a day ago
- Health
- San Francisco Chronicle
The White House praised In-N-Out for switching to beef tallow. It hasn't
The White House touted in a Monday press release examples of prominent food companies that had made changes aligned with President Donald Trump's promises to 'Make America Healthy Again' — including California's In-N-Out Burger, which, the announcement claimed, had switched to only using beef tallow.
But in fact, the burger chain continues to use sunflower oil to cook its French fries, the company's customer service line confirmed.
The White House press release linked to a viral April 1 X post appearing to announce the company was 'transitioning to 100% pure beef tallow.' The post was from a In-N-Out fan account that quickly clarified it was an April Fool's joke.
'Just delete it bruh,' responded political commentator Dominic Michael Tripi. 'Everyone thinks it's real.'
In-N-Out did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the confusion.
The burger chain did announce last month that it would remove artificial dyes from two of its drinks and change to a ketchup made with real sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup. In-N-Out president Lynsi Snyder said in a May 15 Facebook post that the company is 'researching an even better-quality oil for our fries' but did not mention beef tallow.
Cardiologists believe that vegetable oils are healthier than animal fats, citing decades of research. Still, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has championed tallow over seed oils, and some Bay Area restaurants have made the switch. Critics claim without medical evidence that seed oils like canola, soybean and sunflower oil cause inflammation and worsen health problems such as obesity and heart disease. Steak 'n Shake, a burger chain in the Midwest, has announced it's moving away from seed oils, and is now cooking fries, onion rings and chicken tenders in beef tallow.
In-N-Out operates more than 400 locations in California and beyond. A privately held company, its family-owners have drawn criticism from some customers in liberal-leaning California for their donations to Republicans. And on social media, some customers have indeed pressed In-N-Out to move to beef tallow. But as of now, In-N-Out's website confirms its fries are cooked in 100% sunflower oil.
