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CAT Tracks for April 12, 2010
NOT A GOOD DAY |
...to be a chicken.
Below I've posted two "reviews" of KFC's new chicken "sandwich"...probably two more than it's worth.
However, since the first article seemed overly "supportive" of the offering, in the interest of balanced reporting, I, well...double downed.
From the northjersey.com website...
A double diet buster?
By Bill Pitcher
A bacon and cheese sandwich? Between pieces of what? Fried chicken?
We're thinking what you're thinking; it's a heart attack waiting to happen.
Maybe not.
KFC's new Double Down — the sandwich between slices of chicken — will roll out nationwide today to jeers from food purists, skepticism from nutritionists and praise from Atkins followers. So we thought we'd compare its nutritional values to other big-name, big-calorie sandwiches from other fast-food chains.
* Even with bacon and cheese, the Double Down is lower in calories than most fast-food sandwiches. A Grilled Double Down has 460 — 25 percent fewer than a Popeye's chicken sandwich. The traditional Double Down has 540.
* With 53 grams of protein (and 61 grams in the grilled version), it's far more protein-dense than any of the other sandwiches we studied. Even more than Burger King's BK Quad Stack, which features four hamburger patties. Both KFC sandwiches exceed the FDA's recommended daily intake of protein (50 grams).
* Per gram, the grilled Double Down has more cholesterol (185 milligrams) than Sonic's new cheddar and jalapeno burger and more than three times as much as Taco Bell's Grilled Stuft steak burrito. The FDA's recommendation is 300 milligrams of cholesterol.
Bottom line: It's difficult to defend a sandwich with too much protein and so much cholesterol. But if you can limit yourself to a single sandwich, it beats many alternatives.
From SkyNews Website...
'No Room For Bread' In KFC Chicken Sandwich
By Huw Borland
Fast food fans will be licking their lips in anticipation of KFC's Double Down sandwich: a fried feast with no bread - and extra meat.
Rather than the conventional "meat in a bun" burger, the new dish replaces bread with two chicken fillets.
KFC's website says "this one-of-a-kind sandwich" is filled with bacon strips, melted cheese and the Colonel's mayonnaise sauce.
The firm, formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, insists its Original Recipe Double Down contains 540 calories, 32 grams of fat and 1,380mg of salt.
But Canada's Vancouver Sun did its own research and estimated the Double Down has more than twice the calories KFC has claimed.
The paper said the sandwich is equal to 1,228 calories - half a man's recommended daily intake.
But KFC insisted: "Some media sources speculated on the nutritional information for the sandwich, and published numbers that were inflated."
The Double Down's launch in America on April 12 has raised concerns in a country where 65% of adults are overweight and 31% are obese, according to US government figures.
Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University's Rudd Centre for Food Policy and Obesity, described the dish to USA Today as a "salt bomb".
"That's a better part of a day's sodium in one meal," he said.
Rick Maynard, spokesman for KFC, said: "For your real chicken sandwich lover, you no longer have to go to a burger place for a (not as tasty) chicken sandwich.
"This is so meaty, there is no room for the bun."
The sandwich is going on sale in America after successful test runs in Rhode Island and Nebraska - but it will not be available in Britain.
* Weighing in at 241 grams, it's a mere snack compared with some of its peers. Wendy's Baconator Triple, for instance, weighs nearly twice as much. The Double Down's slightness may surprise you; expect to see two small chicken patties, not entire breasts.
Sky News Online
