Burger buyers beware: Hungry Jacks introduces kilojoule count menu
Fast food restaurant Hungry Jacks has introduced menu boards displaying kilojoule counts in their 345 nationwide outlets today.
Beating nutrition legislation due to be enacted next year, Hungry Jacks is the first food outlet to display kilojoule content information.
Hungry Jacks claims they are equipping customers with nutritional facts to help them make better nutritional decisions for themselves.
Like the calorie count for the Ultimate Double Whopper burger, which on its own equals about 5110 kJs without sides.
Add a regular serving of fries, 1409 kJs, and a soft drink, 817 kJs, and the total kilojoule intake in one meal nearly reaches the recommended daily kilojoule intake for an adult – approximately 8700 kJs.
In September this year Hungry Jacks announced plans to introduce vegetables, like broccoli and raw carrots, as a healthy side to its meals.
Critics called the plans a marketing ploy to ease pressure by parents, governments and health professionals on them to improve the quality of their food.
Hungry Jacks argues on its website that it is working on improving its menu, "Our fries now have 75 per cent less saturated fat. Our buns have reduced sugar and sodium. We're using fresher ingredients and better, tastier cuts of meat. We've introduced organic beef in our new Country Burgers."
A Hungry Jacks press release says the sugar in Hungry Jack's buns has been reduced by over 60 per cent, the sodium level in chicken nuggets slashed by a third.
In February next year NSW will become the first state to enact Fast Choice Legislation forcing fast food chains to reveal their energy counts or risk heavy fines.
