Pub chain criticised for calorific doughnut burger
"Family friendly" pub chain Hungry Horse has been criticised for creating a burger containing nearly 100% of a woman's recommended daily calorie intake at 1,996 calories.
The Double Donut burger consists of two beef burgers topped with cheese, four bacon rashers and BBQ sauce, sandwiched between two glazed ring-doughnuts.
Critics called it irresponsible, dubbing it "a heart attack on a plate".
Hungry Horse said it was catering for a variety of tastes.
Its 220 pubs around the UK claim to be "big on value, fun and offering unrivalled choice".
So wrong? Advertised with the tag line "So Wrong It's Right", the Double Donut burger contains 53g of saturated fat, well above the 20g daily allowance for women and 30g allowance for men.
The amount of salt in it - 8.2g - is also more than the recommended daily amount for adults (6g).
Mel Wakeman, senior lecturer in Applied Physiology at Birmingham City University, said: "To me, this is simply ludicrous and irresponsible. I am no killjoy but why is this sort of food available?"
Hungry Horse said it displayed all the nutritional information and guideline daily amounts for men, women and children on its website. On searching, you can find a BBQ Pulled Pork (Wo)Man Vs Burrito that contains nearly 3,500 calories, 65g of fat and 13g of salt.
But Mel Wakeman argues: "Why can't they include on the menu what the customer would need to do to burn all those calories off? In the case of this Double Donut Burger, around three hours of continuous running should just about do it. I wonder how many people would still opt for the item knowing this."
Steve Jebson for Hungry Horse, said: "Our popular menu caters for a variety of tastes and appetites and includes everything from lower calorie options such as our hot chicken and bacon salad at 393 calories, through to the indulgent occasional treat such as our new Double Donut Burger. All the nutritional information for our menu is available on our website and in our pubs, so that our customers are able to make informed decisions about what they choose to eat."
