CSPI Announces “Xtreme Eating Awards 2009”

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has targeted a number of restaurants in its Xtreme Eating 2009 report, which also singles out four plates as particularly high in calories, fat and sodium. The public watchdog has lambasted chain establishments for making “already bad foods even worse,” claiming that some appetizers rival entrée-sized portions in terms of daily dietary intake. The report names Applebee’s Quesadilla Burger, Chili’s Big Mouth Bites, Cheesecake Factory’s Chicken and Biscuits, and Red Lobster’s Ultimate Fondue among the dishes that purportedly contribute to “America’s epidemic of obesity and diet-related disease.”

Pledging to make its “Xtreme Eating Awards” an annual affair, CSPI has backed legislation pending before the U.S. Congress that would introduce menu labeling laws similar to ones enacted in Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, California, and Massachusetts. “Ultimately, Americans bear personal responsibility for their dining choices,” stated CSPI director Margo Wootan in a June 2, 2009, press
release. “But you can’t exercise personal responsibility if you don’t have nutritional information when you order. Who would expect 2,800 calories in a dessert?”