<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Today I received a call from Kim Miller, my contact at Burger King.
For those who are new to our List, I have made a number of posts in the
past about the GF status of their fries.  Briefly, there are two types
of units in their chain (according to BK):

(a) Regular Units

Most units have NOT been experimenting with new types of fries.
The regular fries are themselves GF.  They are fried in oil in which no
other products are fried.  Onion rings, fried fish and other fried foods
are prepared in fries in a different part of the store, at a different
frying temperature.  At night, the oils are not mixed.  When they are
filtered, the French fry oil is always filtered using a brand new
filter, never a filter which has been used on other fried items.

Based on the above reported facts, I am comfortable with the GF status
of their fries.  The two things to watch out for are:

    (i) A few units do not follow the above corporate practice, even
    though this is directly against corporate policy and is subject to
    corporate sanctions.  Also it is always possible that one of the
    friers are shut down for repair, so check with your local store
    before buying fries

    (ii) Sometimes the server accidentally puts an onion ring in
    my bag! Although the French Fries and onion rings are prepared
    in different parts of the place, they wind up on serving
    bins right next to each other.

(b)  Experimental Units

About 1,000 units in the BK chain have been experimenting with new types
of coated fries.  As previously reported, the initial fries had a
coating made with wheat and whey, thus rendering them inappropriate for
GF or dairy-free diets.  A list of the states in which the experiment is
being conducted can be found via searching our archives for "burger king".

The news given to me today is that a majority of the 1,000 units have
now switched to one of two types of coated fries that use potato starch
instead of wheat and whey.  At some time in the future, BK will decide
whether to roll out the potato starch version of coated fries, the
wheat/whey version, or to stick with the old regular version.  They
promised to give our List advance warning of their decision.

For those of you who live outside the US, sorry that this post is of
little value to you -- except perhaps to illustrate the issues you face.
For the rest of us, it seems that it is worthwhile checking with your
local BK, as the overwhelming majority of them are now carrying GF
fries.

Bill Elkus
Los Angeles