Saturday, October 25, 2008

For shame, Pizza Hut

I've been marveling at Pizza Hut's new commercials for the line of Tuscani pastas. I don't really believe that they are as grand as they are cracked up to be in the commercials -- maybe it's the snob in me, but I can't help but think that the people on the "hidden cameras" don't know from pasta. But what really gets me is that this 3 pounds of pasta with bread sticks is marketed as the perfect meal for a family of four. So, let's see... that's 12 oz of pasta per person. But actually, a serving of pasta is supposed to be more like 4 oz, so you should get 12 servings out of the Tuscani. If you check out Pizza Hut's nutrition webpage, you'll find out that a serving of the Tuscani pasta is about 500-600 calories, which doesn't sound too bad, except that it has 1200 mg of sodium and between 22 and 32 grams of fat -- or nearly half your daily recommended fat. They argue on their website that:

We believe eating sensibly, combined with appropriate exercise, is the best solution for a balanced lifestyle. To help you further, we've provided here useful links to Pizza Hut nutritional information so you can make informed choices about what to eat.
Pizza can be part of a well-balanced meal. Ingredients in our pizzas include protein, complex carbohydrates, Vitamin A and calcium. And, depending on the toppings you choose, our pizzas have items from all of the four major food groups - meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables
, and grains! So take a closer look within our menu for suggestions when counting calories and fat grams.


While I agree with the thrust of their comments above, telling people in commercials that 3 lbs of pasta feeds four people is misleading at best.

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