Long John Silver's Big Catch Ranked 'Worst Restaurant Meal In America'; Fish Platter Contains 'Artery-Clogging' 33 Grams Of Trans Fat
Although it doesn't contain quite as many calories as a value meal from McDonald's or Burger King, Long John Silver's "Big Catch" has been ranked the "Worst Restaurant Meal in America." The seafood restaurant chain is even being accused of falsely advertising its deep-fried dining option, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) reported.
According to the CSPI, the amount of fish featured in the dish, described by Long John Silver's executive Charles St. Clair as "seven to eight pounds of 100-percent premium haddock," could be a misleading assertion. In reality, the meal contains almost the same amount of oil-drenched frying batter as fish.
"It turns out that when Long John Silver's says 7 to 8 ounces of 100 percent haddock, it's more like 60 percent haddock, and 40 percent batter and grease. Nutrition aside, that's just plain piracy," said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson.
The Big Catch meal is made up of fried fish, hushpuppies, and onion rings. It contains 33 grams of trans fat, 19 grams of saturated fat, and 3,700 milligrams of sodium. This perfect storm of "artery-clogging" cuisine can attribute to heart disease, a spike in blood pressure, and stroke risk.
"Trans fat from partially hydrogenated oil is a uniquely damaging substance that raises your bad cholesterol, lowers your good cholesterol, and harms the cells that line your blood vessels," said Walter C. Willett, chair of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health.
"It might have been defensible to use hydrogenated oil in the 1980s, before trans fat's harmfulness was discovered, but no longer. It is outrageous that Long John Silver's foods are still loaded with artificial trans fat and that the FDA still permits it in foods."
On Tuesday, the CSPI informed Long John Silver's CEO Mike Kern that the fast food chain will be sued if it fails to correctly indicate how much fish each meal contains or if it continues to use hydrogenated oil in its deep fryers.
"Long John Silver's Big Catch meal deserves to be buried 20,000 leagues under the sea. This company is taking perfectly healthy fish-and entombing it in a thick crust of batter and partially hydrogenated oil. The result? A heart attack on a hook. Instead of the Big Catch, I'd call it America's Deadliest Catch," Jacobson said.