In an attempt to capture a new segment of the market, Wendy's has introduced a new take on fast-food: "natural-cut fries with sea salt."
You can imagine the same wording on a fancy restaurant menu. The fries even sound healthy. But are they?
Sadly, no. Wendy's new fries contain considerably more sodium and slightly more calories than the standard ones.
As NPR reports:
Wendy's confirmed to us that the new medium sized fry goes from 350 milligrams to 500 milligrams.
The recommended daily limit on sodium is 2,400 milligrams, the equivalent of one teaspoon of salt. These fries would account for over a fifth of that.
The word "natural" in the fries' name isn't regulated by the government. It sounds healthy, but is essentially meaningless. Other words like "pure" and "fresh" are often used in a similar way. And even legitimate claims like "fat-free" are often misapplied to products which are unhealthy in other ways.
What's the upshot for dieters?
Well, if you're going to eat fries, you may find that you prefer the new gourmet ones (which cost the same as standard fries), and perhaps you'll be satisfied with a medium portion rather than a large one. But don't kid yourself that these fries are a healthy option.
Fast Food fries salt and sodium Wendy's 14 Comments RickInMiami on 22 Nov 2010Who do you trust? The fries are still put into oil frozen that cools the oil that needs to be reheated to fry temperature. This cooling and reheating breaks down the oil releasing free radicals. Gourmet or natural they are still processed. Too bad it's another empty example of business trying to pander to the trend.
Reply ArrowSmith on 22 Nov 2010My arteries are screaming for free radicals. Ok, I just want any excuse to gorge myself on burgers and fries!
Reply O. on 22 Nov 2010As far as I can remember, Wendy's was the first fast food burger restaurant to offer alternatives to fried sides.
First it was the chili, baked potatoes, and salad bar which were all pretty unheard of in that industry.
Later on, I think they were the first to have large and small prepackaged salads. They also added fruit platers at one time and followed McDonalds putting yogurt on the menu.
Most recently, it was offering these sides as an alternative to fries on the value menu without an additional charge.
I went to them alot when I first started to try to "cut back" and change my fast food habits.
Reply Spectra on 22 Nov 2010It's just like the people who go out and buy "organic" cookies and cakes and stuff because they are organic, so they must be somehow "healthier" than any other kind of cookie. Fries are fries...they're deep fried potatoes; they shouldn't be masquerading as a health food.
Reply Suds on 22 Nov 2010I think the "natural" word on there is supposed to fool people into thinking "healthy" even though it refers to the cut of the fries and that's it.
And the Campbell's low sodium soup advertises that it's made with sea salt so people are going to now associate sea salt with low sodium.
Spectra- organic cookies must be the new Snackwells. Everyone gorged themselves on Snackwells years ago because they were "low fat" and who cares how many calories were in them, right?
Oh god I'm stuffed.
Reply Bonnie on 22 Nov 2010I think this is a way of cashing in on the 'foodie' craze. You're not just eating french fries - you're going the luxury route by eating gourmet fries with sea salt!
Reply O. on 22 Nov 2010Oh I love that comment Bonnie! I hate foodies. It's like they (American ones) hate their own heritage.
Eating sea horses in China is "trendy" but eating mac and cheese is seen as "common". How do we know sea horses isn't the "common" snack in China and not gourmet?
I like gourmet, I like Kraft mac and cheese, I can make my own homemade mac and cheese. It's all good on different occasions.
Reply O. on 22 Nov 2010I liked Wendy's original fries. They were pretty much the only other fast food fries that tasted anything close to McDonald"s awsome fries.
I mean how many places do you see people ordering ONLY fries? Mickey D's.
Reply ArrowSmith on 22 Nov 2010Dude there's something wondrously chemical in Mickey D's fries. It's made in New Jersey.
Reply O. on 23 Nov 2010You are so right! McDonald's fries have magical powers I swear.
Reply rupertgr10 on 22 Nov 2010I am dying to taste them
Reply Jim F. on 23 Nov 2010They look tasty enough...
Reply blob on 25 Nov 2010Hooray for salt Mr Bloomberg! Seasoned, sea salt, it's all so good. Sometimes I enjoy a salt tablet before ingesting to ensure water retention. I also installed a salt lick at the dinner table to make sure I get enough.
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