Hardee's Reveals 920-Calorie Breakfast Burrito

Filed in archive Nutrition on October 15, 2007

Can you imagine eating two eggs omelets loaded with bacon, sausage, ham, cheese, and hash browns smothered in sausage gravy everyday for breakfast? Well, Hardee's would like you to.

Today, Hardees revealed its new Country Breakfast Burrito with the above fixings and 920 calories and 60 grams of fat. That's half of day's alloted calorie intake and a full day's of fat. And Hardee's officials are not defending the burrito, saying "it is designed to fill you up". This new burrito comes on the heels that obesity is linked to colon cancer.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based advocate for nutrition and health, has called the Hardee's line of Thickburgers "food porn."

The group's senior nutritionist, Jayne Hurley, said Monday the burrito was "another lousy invention by a fast-food company."

The "country breakfast bomb," as she called it, represents half a day's calories and a full day's worth of saturated fat and salt, to say nothing of cholesterol.

"That's all before 10 o'clock in the morning," she said.

Haley makes no apologies.

"We don't try to hide what these are," he said. "When consumers go to other fast-food places they feel like they've got to buy two of their breakfast sandwiches or burritos to fill up. This is really designed to fill you up."

The government's Center for Nutritional Policy and Promotion recommends a daily caloric intake ranging from 1,600 calories for sedentary women and older adults to 2,800 calories for teenage boys and active adults. Hardee's sees its core customers as young men ages 18 to 34, Haley said, though it expects a wider range for breakfast items.