Fast Food Is Nutritious Now: It's All In The Numbers.

I noticed a report the other day that a large fast food retailer (who shall be nameless) was now publishing "nutrition" stats on the "food" they were selling.

People who know me will know that, when I do a road trip, I always indulge in at least one burger. And guess what? I enjoy every mouthful ... even though I know that it is not contributing to my health goals in any way. But I digress ...

So I pulled in to check out how this potentially damaging information was being handled ... and whether I could learn exactly how much my penchant for the odd burger was hurting me.

The outlet I visited had a tiny little stand hidden off to one corner, with a bunch of rather non-descript brochures crowing that the company in question was "Proud To Show Off Our Figures". They then went on to trademark the name of their nutritional and allergen guide. Marketing ... or social responsibility? Whatever it was, it must be important.

Imagine ... you can now eat yourself senseless knowing that the food you are guzzling is both nutritious and free from the specific allergens that may not agree with your delicate constitution. How good is that?

I paged through the brochure eager to begin my nutritional education and realized that it was a good thing that I had thought ahead and bought my reading glasses. The print, though neatly presented, was so small (microscopic almost) that it was readable only by kids and diamond graders.

But there they were. Detailed statistics on weight, calories, macronutrient breakdown, fibre, sodium, saturated fat and every potential allergen you could think of. Perfectly targeted to the average fast food consumer who of course will now instantly realize the implications of that extra slice of cheese and reign in their hedonistic impulses.

Here's the kicker though ... in all of this analysis the crafters of this document of truth and transparency had conveniently left out any mention of hydrogenated fats. You know, that ones that aren't nutritionally beneficial to us even in small quantities. But didn't that newscast I saw feature some company spokesman banging on about how important it was for their consumers to be able to make an informed decision?

Who are they kidding?

Oh, sorry ... their entire customer base. Well that's something to be proud of. Yeah, I know, the supermarkets are doing it too. And we have to be proactive in sculping public perceptions. And then there are those beastly labelling laws, which are actually going to be understandable soon ... and then what?

Caveat emptor!