Consumer Reports Looks At Fries

The August 2009 issue of Consumer Reports magazine (now on news stands) takes a look at the fast food french fry.

Many of the major fast food chains have gone "Trans Fat Free" with their french fries and Consumer Reports has confirmed that the fries at Burger King, McDonald's and Wendy's are, in fact, free of trans-fats.

(Note: McDonald's has NOT eliminated trans fat from their new Angus Third Pounder burgers... more on that tomorrow.)

Further, they have found that the fries taste about the same as they used to.

Consumer Reports ranked Wendy's and McDonald's fries as "very good" and Burger King's fries as "good."

One of their observations about the Burger King fries is that they "Taste more of oil than potato."

In the August issue of Consumer Reports and archived online.

More on Chick-fil-a's Trans Fat Elimination

Both Burger King and Chick-fil-a announced the elimination of Trans Fat from their menus last week.

Chick-fil-a has now offered more information on their announcement.

Of note is the fact that none of Chick-fil-a's core menu items, including it's signature Chick-fil-a Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-a Nuggets and Chick-fil-a Chick-n-Strips ever had any trans fat.  They are pressured cooked in 100% refined peanut oil which is naturally trans fat free.

But, Chick-fil-a's popular Waffle Potato Fries, it's breakfast biscuits and some dessert items did have some trans fat.  The Waffle Potato Fries have been trans fat free for the past year.  The trans fat will be phased out of the breakfast biscuits by November.  The only remaining trans fat will be in Chick-fil-a's Cheesecake which has .5 grams of naturally occurring trans fat (and zero grams of artificial trans fat).

from Chick-fil-a:

“While we are proud that we successfully removed trans fat from our lunch and dinner menus, we are especially proud of our accomplishments within our breakfast lineup,” said Woody Faulk, vice president of brand development and director of Chick-fil-A’s menu strategy. “Breakfast has proven to be an extremely competitive daypart for the quick-service industry in recent years, and we are confident the diversity of our menu and the fact we have removed trans fat from our breakfast items without sacrificing taste will continue to help position Chick‑fil-A as a leader in the breakfast category.”

“We are also honored that others in the industry have taken note of our efforts to offer customers a broader menu with healthier choices, especially within our Kid’s Meal offerings,” Faulk added, noting Men’s Health magazine editors David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding recently recognized Chick-fil-A in their new book, “Eat This, Not That for Kids,” as being ‘America’s Healthiest Restaurant for Kids.’ “We have been intentional about offering a variety of healthier options for children over the past several years. We now offer a fruit cup as side option as part of our Kid’s Meals, and children also have a variety of beverage choices, including milk, apple juice, or freshly squeezed lemonade. Offering a menu with zero grams of trans fat is a strong complement to our nutritional efforts for children.”

Burger King & Chick-fil-a Eliminate Trans Fats

Burger King announced today that all artificial Trans Fats will be eliminated from their menu items by November 1, 2008.

"Removing artificial trans fats from our cooking oils and ingredients is another example of our BK Positive Steps nutrition program," said Burger King Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John W. Chidsey. "Many Burger King restaurants have been using trans fat free cooking oils for several months, and our customers tell us that their favorite menu items taste the same, or even better. This is a result of our rigorous operational standards, supply requirements, and extensive consumer taste tests."

Burger King will be transitioning to two proprietary blends of three oils.

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According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chick-fil-a announced yesterday that they would be eliminating Trans Fat from their foods. We've requested more info from Chick-fil-a.

Arby's Toasted Subs

Arby's has introduced Toasted Subs to their Market Fresh sandwich line-up.

Toasted Subs seem to be all the rage since Quizno's popularized them. But unlike Quizno's, Arby's has already released the nutritional information for their toasted subs (and everything else). Good for them! (You can find the info below.)

There are 4 Toasted Subs: the French Dip & Swiss Toasted Sub, the Philly Beef Toasted Sub, the Classic Italian Toasted Sub, and the Turkey Bacon Club.

As part of the Toasted Sub announcement, Arby's Chief Marketing Officer, Cheryl Barre, said: "The majority of fast food restaurants that serve subs don’t have our combination of two things – high quality, fresh ingredients and the added convenience of not having to get out of your car – the drive-thru."

The subs will be advertised with a new "I'm Thinking Arby's" television campaign.

Descriptions and nutritional information:
The Philly Beef Toasted Sub (pictured top left) features roast beef, melted Swiss cheese, roasted onions, green and red bell peppers and roasted garlic sauce on a toasted ciabatta roll. It has 738 calories, 332 calories from fat, 35 grams total fat, 9 grams saturated fat, 1 gram trans fat, 86 mg cholesterol, 1881 mg sodium, 64 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 3 grams sugars, 31 grams protein.
The French Dib & Swiss Toasted Sub (bottom right) features roast beef and melted Swiss cheese on a toasted ciabatta roll, served with a side of au jus for dipping. It has 621 calories, 181 calories from fat, 19 grams fat, 7 grams sat-fat, 1.5 grams trans fat, 79 mg cholesterol, 3397 mg sodium, 68 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 2 grams sugars, 37 grams protein.
The Classic Italian Toasted Sub (top right) has ham, salami, pepperoni, melted mozzarella cheese, banana peppers and garlic mayonnaise, topped with lettuce, tomatoes and red onion and drizzled with red wine vinaigrette, on a toasted ciabatta roll. It has 827 calories, 410 calories from fat, 45 grams total fat, 13 grams sat fat, .5 grams trans fat, 89 mg cholesterol, 2495 mg sodium, 69 grams carbs, 2 grams fiber, 4 grams sugar.
And the Turkey Bacon Club Toasted Sub (bottom left) features thinly sliced turkey breast, melted Swiss cheese, chopped pepper bacon and herbed mayonnaise on a toasted ciabatta roll, finished with lettuce, tomatoes and red onion. It has 619 calories, 159 calories from fat, 17 grams total fat, 5 grams saturated fat, no trans fat, 81 mg cholesterol, 2052 mg sodium, 66 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 3 grams sugars, 41 grams protein.

BK's new $1 trans fat sandwich

Burger King is now serving a spicy, crispy chicken sandwich that only costs a buck.

The Spicy Chick'n Crisp Sandwich is a crispy chicken filet with a spicy kick served with lettuce and mayonnaise on a sesame seed bun.

It may not shrink your wallet much, but it will certainly expand your waist. For a smallish, one dollar sandwich, this thing is loaded with fat. And not just any fat...it's got 2 grams of trans fat!

I thought BK was planning on going trans-fat free like Wendy's and so many other fast food chains. Guess not.

It has 480 calories, 280 calories from fat, 31 grams of fat, 5 grams saturated fat, 2 grams trans fat, 30 mg cholesterol, 460 mg sodium, 8 grams carbs, and 10 grams of protein.

UPDATE: Here's the TV ad promoting the sandwich as the latest member of the BK Value Menu. It's a strange ad made on the cheap (like the sandwich I guess).

Wendy's Baconator quite popular

Wendy's new "Baconator" sandwich has six strips of hickory smoked bacon on top of 1/2 lb. of beef with American cheese, ketchup and mayonnaise.

"This is one of the most successful new product introductions we've had in some time," said Wendy's Chief Executive Officer and President Kerrii Anderson.

Wendy's sold 25 million of the Baconators in the first 8 weeks they were being promoted.

That's over 20 billion calories and 2,810,893 lbs of fat! That much fat is equal to 439 H2 Hummers. (And you'll need a Hummer to tote you around if you eat many Baconators!)

Here's the nutrition facts for just 1 Baconator: 830 calories, 460 calories from fat, 51 grams of fat, 22 grams saturated fat, 2.5 grams trans fat, 170 mg cholesterol, 1920 mg sodium, 35 grams carbs, 1 gram fiber, 8 grams sugar, 57 grams protein.

BK's pledge on advertising to kids

This week Burger King announced their new policy on advertising to kids with their pledge to the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative of the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

BK's pledge limits Burger King advertising and product placement aimed at children under 12 to 'Kids Meals' that meet the following criteria:

• No more than 560 calories per meal;
• Less than 30 percent of calories from fat;
• Less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat;
• No added trans fats; and
• No more than 10 percent of calories from added sugars.

As part of their 'pledge,' BK listed 3 items they are considering for their Kids Meal:
Flame Broiled Chicken Tenders (4pc): 145 calories, 6 grams fat, 54 calories from fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat, 0 grams added sugar, 370mg sodium.
MOTT’S® Organic Unsweetened Apple Sauce: 50 calories 0 grams fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 0 grams added sugar, 0mg sodium.
Hershey's 1% Low Fat White Milk: 110 calories, 2.5 grams fat, 22.5 calories from fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 0 grams added sugar, 130mg sodium.
The total for the above Kids Meal would be 305 calories, 8.5g fat, 76.5 calories from fat, 3g saturated fat, 0g added sugar, 500mg sodium.

The 'pledge' is scheduled to take effect by January 1, 2008. You can read the entire pledge on Burger King's website.

DQ FlameThrower ad a hit

Dairy Queen has unleashed a new TV ad touting their FlameThrower Grill Burger and the ad is getting rave reviews on YouTube. You can watch it below.

DQ's FlameThrower chicken sandwich comes crispy or grilled or you can get the 1/4 pound or 1/2 pound burger version. They all have pepper jack cheese, 2 slices of jalapeño bacon, tomato, lettuce and DQ's "serious" FlameThrower sauce.

What the ad doesn't mention, of course, is that all these sandwiches (except the grilled chicken version) have high amounts of trans fats (see below).

The 1/2 pound FlameThrower GrillBurger has 1030 calories, 650 calories from fat, 73 g total fat, 23 g saturated fat, 3.5 g trans fat (that's a lot!), 145 mg cholesterol, 2020 mg sodium, 41 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 9 g sugars, 53 g protein.

The 1/4 pound FlameThrower GrillBurger has 780 calories, 490 calories from fat, 54 g total fat, 14 g saturated fat, 3 g trans fat (again, that's a lot of trans fat), 90 mg cholesterol, 1490 mg sodium, 41 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 9 g sugars, 33 g protein.

The Crispy FlameThrower Chicken Sandwich has 840 calories, 510 calories from fat, 56 g fat, 11 g saturated fat, 5.5 g trans fat (that's huge; it's as much as the FDA recommends you have in a day), 100 mg cholesterol, 1860 mg sodium, 51 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 8 g sugars, 33 g protein.

The Grilled FlameThrower Chicken Sandwich has 580 calories, 320 calories from fat, 35 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, no trans fat (because it's grilled), 100 mg cholesterol, 1590 mg sodium, 53 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 7 g sugars, 34 g protein.

Chick-fil-a's new shake for St. Patrick's day

Chick-fil-a will be introducing a new hand-spun Mint Cookies and Cream Milkshake starting on St. Patrick's Day (March 17). It will be available through June 30th.

The new shake includes Oreo cookies and mint flavoring and will be available in a 20 oz. cup and priced at $2.79.

“The Mint Cookies and Cream Milkshake is just plain fun,” said Woody Faulk, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of brand development. “Following last year’s highly successful rollout of Hand-Spun Milkshakes, we wanted to let our customers know that we appreciate their enthusiastic support of the shakes – and that we have a few surprises in store for them!”

Chick-fil-a's Cookies and Cream Milkshake has 790 calories, 300 calories from fat, 33g total fat, 18g saturated fat, .5g trans fat 95mg cholesterol, 660mg sodium, 111g carbohydrates, 1g fiber, and 100g sugars.

KFC asks Pope to bless their fish

For the first time KFC is going to serve fish. The KFC Fish Snacker is "An Alaskan Pollock fish filet breaded and fried to golden perfection, then topped with tangy tartar sauce and served on a warm sesame seed bun.

Just in time for Lent, KFC says the new sandwich "is ideal for American Catholics who want to observe Lenten season traditions while still leading their busy, modern lifestyles."

"People can enjoy the flavor of the new Fish Snacker any day of the week, but we believe it will be especially popular on Fridays," said James O'Reilly, Chief Marketing Officer for KFC.

In a PR move to promote the new fish sandwich, KFC has concocted a publicity stunt that at least borders on sacrilegious: they've officially asked the Pope (yes, the one in Rome with the big hat) to bless their new sandwich.

According to KFC's press release: "The company has asked the Pope himself for his blessing, with KFC President Gregg Dedrick sending a personal letter to the Vatican... The company has turned to Pope Benedict XVI, beseeching him to bestow his Papal blessing for this innovative new menu item."

It is unlikely they will hear back from Pope Benedict unless the Catholic Church somehow doesn't realize when they're being used for cheap publicity.

The KFC Fish Snacker has 280 calories, 7 grams of fat, 1.5 grams saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 520 mg sodium, 42 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 5 grams sugars, and 13 grams of protein.

Update: Check out this fake interview with the Pope about KFC at The Ointment.

Fatburger goes trans-fat-free

They seem to all be falling in line with the trans-fat-free movement. Now, burger chain Fatburger, has now gone trans-fat-free, too:

"On January 1st, Fatburger began eliminating trans fat from its menu items. The plan includes transitioning to trans-fat free frying oil in all 83 locations. The new soy bean-based oil will be used to prepare fried offerings, including Fat and Skinny Fries and homemade onion rings."
"Our goal is to provide our guests with the high quality and great taste that they know and love from Fatburger," said Elaine Patel, vice president of marketing for Fatburger.

Fatburger is also promoting the lean, safe beef that they use in their burgers:

Fatburger also uses lean beef. The fresh, 100 percent pure lean beef is ground fresh daily and USDA inspected. All Fatburger beef is tested for toxins and other containments. Each patty is also tested to ensure it is only comprised of approximately 18 percent fat, proving that the “Fat” in Fatburger refers to the size of the burgers.

CA bill seeks nutrition posting

Looks like California might be the first state to require the posting of nutritional data in fast food (and other chain) restaurants. A bill as been introduced in the California Senate by Sen. Carole Migden.

from the San Francisco Chronicle:

Migden, D-San Francisco, introduced legislation Tuesday that would require chain restaurants to post calorie counts for their food in plain view -- that is, on menus and menu boards. The legislation defines chains as restaurants that have five outlets in California, or have one in the state but at least 10 nationwide.

Citing the nation's high obesity rate -- 30 percent of adults over age 20 are obese, according to the National Center for Health Statistics -- Migden argued that consumers should be allowed to make informed choices.

This won't be much trouble for the big chains (except Quizno's, since they won't tell anyone what's in their sandwiches), but it might be hard for the smaller chains that will have to spend the money on laboratory fees (to calculate the data) and signs. It might be more reasonable to limit the requirement to chains with 20+ locations. Just as important might be to require disclosure of those items that have trans fat or high fructose corn syrup.

BK begins trans-fat-free testing, too

Following just days after McDonald's announced their limited introduction of a new trans-fat-free cooking oil for their fries, Burger King has announced their own "in-restaurant testing with several trans fat-free cooking oils."

"We have been working for more than two years to identify trans fat-free cooking oils," said Schaufelberger. "Our goal has been to identify trans fat-free oils that allow for the same great taste and texture quality."

BK wants to ensure availability of the new oil before rolling it out in all their restaurants: "Before making promises to our consumers, we want to be certain that we could deliver the taste, texture and quality that our restaurant guests expect from the Burger King brand," he said. "We also wanted to ensure that the oils were a healthier alternative."

BK says they will meet New York City trans fat-free requirements in advance of its national rollout.

McDonald's adds new Snack Wrap

McDonald's has added to their 'snack wrap' line with the new Honey Mustard Snack Wrap. In addition to the new flavor, McDonald's portable wraps are now available in both grilled and crispy choices.

The new Honey Mustard Snack Wrap, made with either grilled or crispy, chicken breast meat, cheddar jack cheese, crisp lettuce and a sweet and tangy Honey Mustard sauce, wrapped inside a soft flour tortilla, will be offered for a promotional period at $1.29 at participating McDonald's restaurants nationwide.

"Offering our customers a variety of great tasting, top quality food choices at a value is always a key priority for McDonald's," said Don Thompson, President, McDonald's USA. "As the eating habits of people change and snacking becomes a way of life for many consumers, McDonald's is committed to offering our customers more portable, high quality food options that fit their needs."

The new Honey Mustard Snack Wrap has 320 calories, 15 grams of fat, 4.5 grams saturated fat, 1 gram trans fat, 30 grams cholesterol, 750 mg sodium, 34 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, and 14 grams protein.

And there it is, more trans fat. You'd think McDonald's would at least eliminate trans fat from the NEW items! A look at the ingredients list for the chicken used in the wrap reveals the trans fat culprits: hydrogenated soybean oil, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, and partially hydrogenated corn oil with TBHQ.

Some McDonald's go trans fat free

McDonald's has selected a new trans-fat-free oil for their french fries, but they're not saying where it is being used. The new oil is being used in 1,200 undisclosed restaurants of their 13,700 total restaurants.

For McDonald's it's always about mitigating potential liability (with healthy food offerings that no one eats and by promoting a 'healthy lifestyle' that everyone ignores...people don't eat at McDonald's for their health) and putting a healthy PR spin on their operations (by hiring 'professionals' like personal trainer Bob Greene and Dr. Dean Ornish to legitimize their 'healthy image'). Their refusal to reveal where the new trans-fat-free oil is already being used is part of this mindset. They get the positive PR of eliminating trans-fat from (some of) their fries without having to offer full disclosure and risk groups and/or individuals complaining that a given McDonald's doesn't offer the healthier fries.

Not to mention the fact that I'm sure McDonald's has thousands of gallons of the old trans-fat-rich oil that they want to be sure they use up before they move on to something that's better for your health...after all, their bottom line always comes first.

NYC trans fat ban finalized

The proposed ban on trans fat in New York City restaurants I wrote about in September is now a reality.

NYC health officials approved the ban on artificial trans fats in city restaurants on Tuesday. The Big Apple is the first US city to impose such a ban, although Chicago has talked about it, too.

NYC's ban, unanimously approved by the city Board of Health, requires restaurants to stop frying with oils containing artificial trans fat within about six months and to keep it out of all foods by July 2008.

Trans fats are terrible for you and restaurants shouldn't be using the hydrogenated oils that put them in food, but do we really need the government telling us what to eat? I agree that restaurants should definitely be required to disclose prominently that their food had trans fats, but I'm not sure laws banning them altogether are necessary.

Arby's reduces trans fats

Arby's has finally reduced the trans fat in their fries.

In a press release, Arby's announced that they have "has started serving French Fries with zero grams of trans fat as calculated under FDA nutrition labeling regulations. The company is switching to a zero grams trans fat cooking oil, and has worked with its French Fry suppliers to eliminate the use of hydrogenated oil during the par-frying process at the supplier level. This makes Arby’s the first national fast food chain in the U.S. to announce the elimination of trans fat oils in French Fries from supplier to restaurant."

“We are committed to meeting our customers’ needs through great tasting and innovative products,” said Roland Smith, CEO, Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. “In the case of trans fats, we are not only switching to a zero grams trans fat cooking oil in our restaurants, we have also removed trans fats from the French Fry par-frying process at our suppliers’ processing plants. This is exceptional for us because we can do this while maintaining the great French Fry flavor our customers expect.”

Menu Item                      Original TFAs         New TFAs
3-Pack Chicken Tenders         2                     0
5-Pack Chicken Tenders         3                     0
Small Curly Fries              3                     0
Medium Curly Fries             4                     0
Large Curly Fries              6                     1

The new French Fries and cooking oil are scheduled to be in all U.S. Arby’s locations by May 1, 2007.

Jack's holiday shakes and antenna ball

Jack in the Box has begun celebrating the holidays with 2 seasonal menu items and a free holiday antenna ball.

Jack has brought back the Pumpkin Pie Shake and the Egg Nog Shake. A free holiday antenna ball is yours with the purchase of either of these shakes (otherwise the holiday antenna ball is 99 cents).

Jack is proud to point out that these shakes are made with real ice cream, but a little less proud to admit that they contain trans fats (hopefully they'll eliminate those soon).

“We’ve developed an amazing array of unique shake flavors over the years, and the Pumpkin Pie and Egg Nog shakes are popular standouts in the category,” said Teka O’Rourke, director of menu marketing and promotions for Jack in the Box Inc. “We’re excited to bring them back this season, along with our Holiday Antenna Ball, as a gift to our guests.”

The shakes are available in 16 and 24 oz sizes and priced at $2.49 and $2.99 respectively.

The large (24 oz) Egg Nog Shake has 1210 calories, 510 calories from fat, 57 grams of fat, 39 grams of saturated fat, 3 grams of trans fat (!), 190 mg of cholesterol, 390 mg sodium, 152 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 110 grams of sugars, and 18 grams of protein. (Divide the above by 1.39 for the approximate info for the smaller 16 oz Egg Nog Shake.)

The large (24 oz) Pumpkin Pie Shake has 1170 calories, 510 calories from fat, 51 grams of fat, 29 grams of saturated fat, 2.5 grams of trans fat, 190 mg cholesterol, 410 mg sodium, 144 grams carbs, 1 gram fiber, 123 grams sugars, and 18 grams protein. (Divide the above by 1.36 for the 16 oz Pumpkin Pie Shake.)

Bad odds for McDonald's Monopoly

McDonald's Monopoly game promotion is back and will again increase revenues for the fast food giant as those who ignore the odds flock to their neighborhood McDonald's to gorge themselves for loosing game pieces!

The odds of winning a Small McFlurry, a Medium 'trans fat' Fries or a Breakfast Sandwich are "approximately 1 in 7.2." So you should win something every 7th time you eat at McD.

Not so great are the odds of winning the $50 prize: approximately 1 in 91,697.

Odds of winning a Sony Home theater and Flat Panel HDTV: about 1 in 91,697,000. That's less than winning a few million in the Texas Lottery (which is 1 in 25,827,165).

The odds are even worse for the trip for two to Vegas: 1 in 114,621,250.

The odds are 3.5 billion to 1 against you winning a $50,000 prize.

And as for the $5 million grand prize: "Odds of winning are approximately 1 in 41,497,391,309." Wow! For the sake of comparison, the odds of winning the Powerball Lottery is 1 in 146,107,962. Much, much better.


Of course, for several years of McD's Monopoly game you had no chance at all of winning a big prize. That's because the winning pieces were horded by those working on the inside.

But McDonald's has supposedly worked out new security procedures since the fraud was discovered in 2001.

During those years almost all the large prizes, totalling $24 million, went to those in on the scheme.

Jack's steak ciabatta sandwich

Jack in the Box has introduced another sandwich to their Ciabatta line, the Sirloin Steak 'n' Cheddar Ciabatta.

The sandwich features sirloin steak on toasted ciabatta bread with cheddar cheese, red onions, tomatoes and lettuce topped with peppercorn mayo.

It sells for $4.59 at most US Jack in the Box locations.

Jack's Sirloin Steak 'n' Cheddar Ciabatta has 770 calories, 339 calories from fat, 37 g of fat, 8 g saturated fat, .4 g trans fat, 112 mg cholesterol, 1307 mg sodium, 65 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 5 g sugars, 43 g protein.