Chains See Lean Interest in Low-Fat Burger

Hamburger eaters remain loyal to a fatty patty, say several fast-food chains that haven’t followed McDonald’s into the lean-burger business.

“After spending millions on research, we found, just by listening to the consumer, that people are talking nutrition, but they buy on taste,” said Maurice Bridges, director of public affairs for the Hardee’s chain.

Hardee’s introduced a reduced-fat hamburger in 1990, but took it off the menu because it didn’t sell, Bridges said. Burger King, Wendy’s and Carl’s Jr. all considered reduced-fat hamburgers but decided against them.

Today, most fast-food restaurants offer low-fat foods, including grilled chicken, salads and baked potatoes. In 1990, McDonald’s introduced its McLean Deluxe with great fanfare, and won praise from consumer advocates and health authorities.

“We are all basically looking at the same products and technology at the same time,” Burger King spokesman Michael Evans said from Miami.

“The whole industry has found there’s a trade-off in taste, so that’s one of the problems of testing a leaner burger,” said Patty Parks, spokeswoman at Carl’s Jr. in Anaheim, Calif. “It seems the fattier the food, the better it tastes.”

In experiments with lean hamburgers containing carrageen, a seaweed-based additive intended to maintain moisture, Carl’s Jr. found that consumers will try it but won’t keep buying it, Parks said.

Lisa Young, a nutritionist at the University of Pennsylvania Obesity Research Clinic, said some people may not give a low-fat product a chance if they know in advance it’s not “the real thing.”

Fat does taste good, Young added. “Definitely, a higher-fat cookie and lower-fat cookie taste different,” she said.

“The consumer wants lower fat, lower sodium, lower calories. Oh, and by the way, it better taste great,” Wendy’s spokesman Denny Lynch said. His company, based in Dublin, Ohio, hasn’t found a reduced-fat burger that tastes good enough, he said.

With “people who are more diet- and health-conscious, what we found was that even if their intention was to buy a low-fat hamburger, they opted for grilled chicken,” Bridges said. “With all due respect, the way to go is not with a low-fat hamburger.”

The McLean Deluxe is made with carrageen. With 320 calories, 90 of them from fat, it has half the fat of and 90 fewer calories than a Quarter Pounder. Adding cheese adds 50 calories, 36 of them from fat.

“We’re very pleased about it. It’s got a permanent place on our menu board,” said Rebecca Caruso, spokeswoman for McDonald’s, based in Oak Brook, Ill.

She refused to provide any information, however, that would indicate just how popular the low-fat hamburger is. She also would not say whether more are sold with cheese than without.

McDonald’s is by far the industry leader, with 1991 sales of $19.9 billion, according to the National Restaurant Assn. Sales for Burger King were $6.2 billion, for Hardee’s, $3.4 billion, and for Wendy’s, $3.2 billion.

Evans said Burger King hasn’t found a low-fat hamburger it is satisfied with.

“Customer research shows our consumers don’t want a lower-fat burger at the cost of taste,” he said.