Fatabase v2.0: With government looming, 2010, government, collecting, restaurant, industry

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Fatabase v2.0: With government looming, some restaurant chains still refusing to divulge nutritional info



Since our first run at collecting the nutritional information of B.C.’s restaurants back on New Year’s Day 2010, the landscape has changed in the west coast hospitality industry.

The HST has sent eateries into a tailspin, more rigid drinking-and-driving rules have taken the edge off the business lunch, and an increased consumer focus on health has seen some establishments struggle with the concept of “less is more.”

But it’s not all bad news out there; in fact, there are some encouraging signs from some chain restaurants that were previously on the Fatabase naughty list.

White Spot has released its nutritional information online, and taken things a step further than most by including alternatives for many of its bigger items.

Now, a customer can access the nutritional information for a Legendary Burger without sauce, fries or even a bun, whereas last year you had to work hard to get even the most basic information.

The International House of Pancakes has also joined the fray, placing nutritional information online and launching a “Simple and Fit” line of more than 30 meals that total less than 600 calories. IHOP also offers on-menu advice as to what substitutions to make to menu items to reduce fat, salt and calories.

All told, the number of restaurants revealing nutritional information has risen to 80 from 64. But another 80 chains are still keeping the information private.

Cactus Club says its menu is too complex and changes too frequently for it to tell people what’s actually in the food, while Moxie's has told The Sun its menu is too varied across locations to accurately show the information.

Browns Socialhouse won’t return our calls.

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The abc Country Restaurants, which doesn’t offer customers nutritional information, goes to great lengths to advertise its commitment to health on its website.

“Ten years ago, abc Country Restaurants decided to take a healthier deep-frying road, partnered with manufacturer Richardson International Limited of Winnipeg, and began using Canola Harvest HiLo for all of its fried menu items,” says the blurb on the menu page. “Canola Harvest HiLo is an Omega-9 Canola Oil, uniquely high in heart-healthy mono-unsaturated fat, with zero trans fat and the lowest amount of saturated fat among other commonly used frying oils.”

Which is all very nice, but still doesn’t tell you whether the Farmer’s Fettuccine (described as “noodles in a creamy garlic and Parmesan sauce, with farmer sausage and mushrooms”) is good for you, not so good for you, or hysterically bad for you.

Earls took a pounding in last year's Fatabase when we pointed out that the restaurant’s Hot Chicken Caesar Salad had roughly the same fat content as four McDonald’s hamburgers.

Earls has fallen off our list of worst menu items this year — but has done so largely through the fact that they don’t include the nutritional content of their sides in the information of many of their most fattening dishes.

Take a look at their Grilled Chicken Clubhouse and you may be shocked at the 1,659 mg of sodium that comes with it — which is 10 per cent more than the 1,500 mg recommended by health authorities as the suggested daily salt intake.

But when you read the fine print — “See appropriate side for nutritional information” — you begin to realize the item is a lot worse for you than you may first have thought.

The fries that accompany the clubhouse add another 799 mg of salt, not to mention 90 grams of carbohydrates and 775 calories. Throw in a side Caesar salad and you’re staring down the barrel of another 468 mg of sodium and 20 grams of fat for a total of 2,926 mg of sodium — or twice the daily limit.

Even that figure, however, wouldn’t bring the Earls Clubhouse into our list of 20 dishes containing the most sodium.

In order to crack that group and knock the IHOP Thick Cut Bone-In Ham and Eggs out, you’d need to add another 1,400 mg of sodium. The top offender — Applebee’s Appetizer Sampler — packs a whopping 6,830 mg of salt.

It becomes easy to understand why some restaurant chains might get sneaky with nutritional information given how much salt, sugar, calories, fat and carbs some of the meals contain.

The Earls Hot Chicken Caesar Salad has 77 grams of fat, which is the same amount you’d find in 22 Chicken McNuggets at McDonald’s.

A Joey Creamy Chicken Alfredo contains 275 grams of carbs, which is a few more than the KarmelKorn 2 Gallon Popcorn Gift Canister (272).

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Pizza Hut displays all its nutritional information in full, which is good, but to properly use the information you have to take a calculator to the restaurant.

Items on their Eat Well menu are displayed as healthy options, but the fine print reveals the serving sizes used aren’t actually available for purchase.

The Tuscani Mediterranean con Pollo Pasta, for example, comes in a tray, but the nutritional information is based on “1/3 of tray.” Likewise, the pizzas on the menu, which all appear perfectly reasonable at first glance, become less reasonable when you realize the numbers are based on a single slice, not a whole pizza.

It’s up to you to work out how many slices the pizza you order will contain.

The U.S. website of the TCBY chain shows nutritional information for its yogurt products (the Canadian version does not), but when you look closely, it’s all based on a 1/2-cup serving. If you find 1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) of yogurt as an available size at your local TCBY, please let us know because we haven’t seen it to date.

Some of the things we found when we explored B.C. restaurant data were startling.

For example, who knew there was more trans fat in a Butter Roll from Denny’s than you’d find in a Triple Whopper at Burger King?

And who would have thought that 210 grams of the 227 grams of carbohydrates in a Mediterranean Falafel from Jimmy the Greek comes from the kind of pita bread they use?

And don’t get us started on A&W milkshakes: Their large Root Beer Shake rocks the scales with 278 grams of carbohydrates, which is just 10 grams shy of an entire 16-inch XL Fresh Slice Hawaiian Pizza and 46 grams more than the Boston Pizza Smoky Mountain Spaghetti and Meatballs.

The root beer itself makes up just two grams of those carbs, so switching to a plain chocolate milkshake brings no joy for the festively plump.

Of course, nobody would assume that a root beer milkshake was a healthy choice, but sometimes what appears to be the healthy option is just plain bad for you.

Take the De Dutch Smoked Salmon Omelette with Salad, for example. It’s not just fattening; it falls just outside our top-20 most fattening items across all B.C. restaurants with a fat total of 106 grams.

The De Dutch Oatmeal earns a spot just outside the Top 20 sugars list, with 94 grams of sugar — or 23 grams more than a regular Coke at McDonald’s.

So how does a consumer ensure they know what they’re eating? Simple: Patronize restaurants that share their information, check The Fatabase before you order, and have the sauce on the side.

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"Burger Bite Back" - Artist: Joshua Stel (16) - Penticton Secondary School, Penticton, B.C. (Art Teacher: Dawn Richards) - April 2011, Acrylic Paint, 46 x 61: "I feel strongly about raising awareness for what people are eating on a daily basis. Did you know that 50% of meat in most burgers ISN'T meat? Just remember that next time you eat a burger, it may bite back!"