Restaurant menu promises buried in calories, fat; Chains mislead health-conscious consumers

[PSPS]

Restaurant menu promises buried in calories, fat

Chains mislead health-conscious consumers, investigation finds

By ISAAC WOLF
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE

Dishes targeted to health-conscious consumers at popular chains such as Chili's, Taco Bell and Applebee's contained as much as twice the calories and eight times the grams of fat than the restaurants claimed in their published nutrition information, a Scripps Television Station investigation revealed.

From March to May this year, Scripps stations tested food in eight cities from chains that cater to calorie counters by offering special, health-conscious menus -- a growing segment in the restaurant industry.

(snip)



Unlike packaged food, restaurants are not required by the Food and Drug Administration to provide nutrition information, Wootan said. But if a restaurant decides to publish such information, it cannot be misleading.

The (bush) FDA did not return multiple calls for comment.

More at: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/364097_calories22.html

[BlooInBloo]

1. Oooh - that grilled steak taco looks good. I need to eat.

[JI7]

2. what about the salmon adds up to 35 fat grams ?

i can see why the steak taco would.

[BadgerKid]

3. Oil added to the grill?

Because it's probably fish-farm salmon, which tends to be unfatty.
The grill fats could be bad fats. The salmon fat is healthful (omega-3's).

[SoCalDem]

4. Why? because those dishes are prepared in the restaurants by KIDS

or almost-kids who are paid very little, and probably don't measure.. They were probably trained by another kid who just said.."first you do this, and then do that".. In a test kitchen , under precise conditions, prepared by a trained dietician, those claims might be true, but "in the field", I'm guessing anything goes..