Mac Attacked : Spain Turns Up the Heat in War on Hamburgers

The Spanish government, worried about the health of its youth, has declared war on the hamburger, advising people to cut their intake or risk dangerously high cholesterol levels.

The Health Ministry has ordered local authorities to conduct quality and hygiene tests on “burger bars” after a study by a consumer organization said U.S.-owned fast-food chains are selling hamburgers containing poor quality meat, high levels of cholesterol and little nutritional value.

U.S.-style hamburger restaurants are popular in Spain, as in most West European countries. Cesar Brana, the ministry’s secretary general for consumer affairs, has been meeting managers of American chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s to explain the move.

“In general, the products of Wendy’s show an average quality somewhat higher than the rest, though scarcely obtaining a minimum acceptable level,” the consumer study charged.

It also found traces of bacteria in some burgers but said “that does not mean the food is contaminated enough to provoke infection.”

The fast-food chains reacted angrily to the study. Carlos Arambarri, marketing director for Burger King’s 42 restaurants in Spain, told reporters it was a “wicked lie.”

Wendy’s quality control director, Juan Carlos Caballo, said the food sold in its 14 restaurants in Spain “can perfectly well form part of a balanced diet.”

A McDonald’s spokesman said the company is confident that it had proved its high standards of quality at its 37 establishments here.

A Health Ministry spokeswoman said the government was trying to counter the craze for fast-food by promoting the healthier so-called Mediterranean diet, which concentrates on vegetables, fruit and fish--and olive oil rather than either animal or vegetable fats.

Brana said that more than one burger a week constitutes “abuse” and is unhealthy.

“Hamburgers build up cholesterol, and tests we have done show that children, who eat most hamburgers, are beginning to suffer from high cholesterol levels,” the ministry spokeswoman said. High cholesterol intake is a major cause of heart disease.

After meeting with industry representatives, Brana said they had pledged to cooperate with the government program to promote healthier eating styles and to use vegetable, rather than animal, fat for frying to cut cholesterol.