Seed oils in Australia

What the chains fry in

These are the 100 chains we track in Australia, with what each one fries in according to our records. Open any chain for its full report card. See the full country index.

• Real fats: beef tallow, lard, butter, olive oil or coconut oil.
• In between: palm or peanut oil, a high-oleic grade, or a mix of real fat and seed oil.
• Seed oils: canola (rapeseed), soybean, sunflower or corn, or a "vegetable oil" blend.
• No fryer: the chain does not deep fry. It can still cook with oil elsewhere in the kitchen.
• Unknown: our records do not say what the chain fries in.

(estimated) means our note on that chain is hedged, so read the oil as a good guess rather than a confirmed fact. How we read these notes.

Cleanest picks

Chains that fry in real fats come first. After them come chains that mix real fats with other oils or fry in palm or peanut oil.

• Grill'd Olive oil
• Brumby's Bakery Vegetable oil blend and palm oil
• Chargrill Charlie's Olive and soybean oil (estimated)
• Donut King Vegetable oil blend and beef tallow
• Fasta Pasta Canola and palm oil (estimated)
• Guzman y Gomez High-oleic oil and vegetable oil blend
• Harry's Café de Wheels Vegetable oil blend and palm oil
• Krispy Kreme High-oleic sunflower and palm oil
• McDonald's Canola and high-oleic canola oil
• Muzz Buzz Palm oil (estimated)
• Oliver's Real Food Olive and canola oil

All 100 chains

Same chain, different oil

A chain can fry in one oil at home and another abroad. Of the 8 chains we can compare with the U.S., 7 show a different fryer oil in Australia. Rows where the color changes come first. 1 more chain lists the same oil in both places.

The brands that state their fryer oil in many countries are compared in Same chain, different country.

How people cook in Australia

One Australian oil supplier says canola and cottonseed (both grown in Australia) are the main frying oils, and that the market includes local oils, imported oils and blends of the two. KFC Australia used imported palm oil and announced in 2012 that it would switch to Australian-grown canola oil, which shows palm-based fryer oil has been used in food service.

McDonald's Australia said in January 2015 that its fries were cooked in a canola blend (canola, high oleic canola and sunflower oil, plus a little palm oil) and that the blend would be palm-free from February 2015; we found nothing newer from McDonald's, and nothing from Hungry Jack's.

Fish and chip shops, pubs and bakeries vary by business, so the answer is whatever is in that shop's fryer.

Reading labels

FSANZ says palm oil may be listed in the ingredient list either as 'vegetable oil' or as 'palm oil', and it rejected an application for mandatory palm oil labelling (Application A593) because the request rested on environmental concerns. So 'vegetable oil' on an Australian label does not tell you which plant it came from.

Say it in English

English works here. The first two rows are ways to ask the kitchen. Below them are the oil names, with the local word where it differs from American English.

Oil names that are spelled the same as in American English are left out.

Tips for eating out in Australia

• On a label, 'vegetable oil' may be palm, canola, sunflower, cottonseed, soybean or a mix. Prefer products that name the oil, such as 'canola oil' or 'sunflower oil'.
• At fish and chip shops, ask 'What oil is in the fryer?' One supplier says canola and cottonseed are the usual frying oils, but it varies by shop. Grilled fish with salad is a fryer-free option at many of them.
• Big chains publish ingredient and allergen guides online. Check the cooking oil wording before you go, since fryer oils change (KFC said in 2012 it was moving from palm to canola, and McDonald's said its blend would drop palm in 2015).
• If you cook for yourself, butter and olive oil are easy to find, and a named oil on the label beats a generic 'vegetable oil' blend.

Sources

The cooking, label and tip sections come from these pages. The chain fryer oils come from our own records.

1. FSANZ: Palm oil (labelling position, Application A593; page last updated 25 Feb 2025)
2. Food Service Rep: What's the best oil for your bottom line (Goodrop Oils supplier view that canola and cottonseed dominate frying; undated)
3. The Orangutan Project: KFC plans to fry good oil (15 May 2012, KFC Australia moving from imported palm oil to Australian canola)

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