Kraft Foods has been tinkering with its Oreo formula for the past two and a half years, trying to eliminate those dreaded trans-fats without compromising the flavor and texture of one of America's favorite cookies.

When the FDA announced that all nutrition labels must list trans fats as of January 1, 2006, Kraft vowed to have a reformulated, trans fat-free Oreo on the market in time to meet the deadline.

The good news, for Oreo aficionados, is that not only did Kraft keep its promise, but, according to a pair of pastry chefs recruited by the Washington Post to do a “blind” taste test, the new Oreos are virtually indistinguishable from the original.

The bad news, for Kraft, is that the new, improved Oreo may not be enough to revive the food giant's flagging fortunes. Kraft, America's biggest food manufacturer, has been struggling to boost sales in the past two years by promoting healthier incarnations of such Kraft staples as Wheat Thins and Chips Ahoy!, as well as its new South Beach Diet food line, which generated sales of more than $170 million in its first ten months.

But can a company whose bread and butter is mac and cheese ever hope to claim a significant segment of the healthy foods market? Colin Symonds, chief investment officer of a firm that owns 241,000 shares of Kraft stock, is doubtful. “You look at things like the success of Whole Foods and there's clearly a segment of the market out there that's quite interested in healthy food and is willing to pay for it…I just don't know that they currently have the slate of products that answer that.”

I don't know either, but I'm willing to give Kraft credit for figuring out how to make a trans-fat free Oreo. Now, if only they could share their secrets with McDonald's, which has not only failed to come up with a trans fat-free French fry, but recently discovered that their French fries contain even more trans fats than they previously thought. Oops.