The State of Seed Oils in American Fast Food, 2026

The headline numbers

• 79% of chains (405 of 512) average more than 4g of seed oil per menu item, the amount many in this community treat as a full day's budget.
• The average menu item across all 40,632 items carries an estimated 6.0g of seed oil.
• Of the 476 chains with cooking oil intel, 96% use at least one seed oil (soybean, canola, vegetable blend, sunflower, corn, or rice bran).
• Just 2 chains are verified fully seed oil free.

Grades across 512 chains

A grade reflects the chain's average estimated PUFA per menu item.

What America actually fries in

Chains mentioning each fat in their disclosed or researched cooking oils (a chain using a blend counts in each). Red bars are seed oils, green are not.

The 10 cleanest chains of 2026

1. 1. Gong cha A 0.8g avg
2. 2. sweetFrog A 0.9g avg
3. 3. Yogurtland A 1.0g avg
4. 4. Kung Fu Tea A 1.0g avg
5. 5. Red Mango A 1.1g avg
6. 6. Menchie's A 1.1g avg
7. 7. Bahama Buck's A 1.1g avg
8. 8. Pinkberry A 1.2g avg
9. 9. Jeremiah's Italian Ice A 1.4g avg
10. 10. 16 Handles A 1.4g avg

The 10 heaviest chains of 2026

1. 1. Guthrie's C 18.7g avg
2. 2. Wings Over C 17.7g avg
3. 3. Detroit Wing Company C 17.1g avg
4. 4. Angry Chickz C 16.9g avg
5. 5. Krispy Krunchy Chicken C 16.2g avg
6. 6. Wingstop C 16.0g avg
7. 7. Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken C 15.1g avg
8. 8. Arthur Treacher's C 14.4g avg
9. 9. Dave's Hot Chicken C 14.1g avg
10. 10. Claim Jumper C 13.7g avg