Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 30, 1995 TAG: 9511300071
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BRIGID SCHULTE KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The diet nags are back. And this time they're not ripping into greasy kung-pao chicken or fatso movie popcorn. The target was those heart-starred ``light fare'' restaurant entrees that say they're lower in fat and calories.
And you know what? They are.
Just when you thought you'd never trust a low-fat label again, the fat gram-counting gurus at the Center for Science in the Public Interest found the ``fit fare'' and ``guiltless'' menu items at some national chains like T.G.I. Friday's, Chi-Chi's and the Olive Garden actually delivered on their claims.
T.G.I. Friday's Pacific Coast Tuna, the study's top-rated entree, actually had 2 fewer fat grams than the 7 grams claimed on the menu. And Denny's ``fit fare'' grilled chicken breast was not only low fat, but piled on a healthy 13/4 cups of fruits and vegetables.
Far from the old days, when ``light fare'' was usually a dried out chicken breast served with a scoop of cottage cheese on a wilted piece of lettuce, this food actually tasted good, the center reported.
And no one was more surprised than the CSPI.
``At first, I wondered if they were just skimpier portions, but it wasn't that,'' said CSPI nutritionist Jayne Hurley. ``They're giving you fruit salsa or a marinated bean salad instead of guacamole and sour cream ... we're really happy with the results.''
Well, not entirely happy. How could we expect only good news from the group that the restaurant industry loves to call ``nutrition terrorists''?
CSPI has spent 24 years testing fat, studying nutrition and nagging the government and the food industry about false nutrition claims. It takes no corporate money and is funded entirely by more than 750,000 subscriptions to its nutrition newsletter.
Of 17 different light dishes CSPI tested in their most recent study, one-third actually had more fat than the menu promised, sometimes as much as 50 percent more.
The ``light'' chicken fajitas dishes at both El Torito and Chi-Chi's promised 10 and 12 grams of thigh-jiggling fat, respectively. Instead, CSPI found 18 grams. Still, that's a mere venial sin compared with the whopping 63 grams of fat - about the amount recommended for an entire day - that comes in a typical fajitas dish.
And when it comes to saturated fat - the killer kind that can block arteries - Chi-Chi's and El Torito's light quesadillas had 22 grams - more than the 15 to 20 grams a day recommended limit.
And all the dishes were heavy on the salt. Chili's ``guiltless' fajitas, which had only 6 grams of saturated fat, was loaded with more than 3,000 milligrams of sodium - as much as a teaspoon and a half of salt and far more than the 2,400-mg daily recommendation.
The worst belly-bulging offender the CSPI tested was Denny's California grilled chicken salad. Low-fat generally means that fat makes up no more than 30 percent of the calories in a given dish. In this salad, fat made up 52 percent of the calories. That's worse than the McDonald's fajita chicken salad with light vinaigrette.
One sample chicken salad even came with unintended bacon strips, hardly a slim and trim food option.
``Usually, when we have just good news, we get almost no press coverage. ... I was bracing myself for an empty room,'' CSPI executive director Michael Jacobson said of his well-attended Wednesday morning press conference. ``But hopefully now the big chains will see that many, many people want healthy choices when they go out to eat.''
by CNB