Double Down Calorie Count a Big, Fat Controversy

(April 23) -- Only a week into its official launch, the KFC Original Recipe Double Down "sandwich" has made headlines across the nation. Some love the greasy slabs of fried chicken surrounding bacon and cheese, while others have called the thing an abomination. In fact, we here at AOL News have filed several stories about the bunless entree (see this one and this one).

On Wednesday, CityRag.com started what has become quite a viral topic: Does the Original Recipe Double Down actually contain the 540 calories and 32 grams of fat as KFC claims?

CityRag estimates the Double Down's gut-busting toll on your diet at 1,190 calories and 86 grams of fat -- more than double the amount stated in KFC's official printed nutrition information. And their conjecture has lead to discussions at Fark.com and Consumerist.com, two large presences on the Web -- causing a lot of frustration for KFC.

"This happened when the product went out in test market as well," Rick Maynard, KFC's public relations director and spokesman, told AOL News.

Maynard says the controversy began last year with what he called "an erroneous report by the Vancouver Sun," when the product was test marketed.

The paper estimated the Double Down at more than 1,020 calories.

"The results of our calculations (and these are only guess-timates) show this one menu item can be estimated to supply more than the daily recommended allowance in fat (124 percent), saturated fat (117 percent), cholesterol (105 percent), sodium (125 percent) and protein (194 percent), as well as 61 percent of your daily recommended calorie intake," according to the story.

Maynard said the Sun's report snowballed after it was picked up by Huffington Post and other news organizations.

"We contacted both outlets -- and many others -- and they corrected the information," Maynard said. "Our estimate at the time was that the Double Down contained 590 calories."

KFC's official caloric breakdown was performed by Silliker Inc., an internationally accredited nutrition lab, which published the following breakdown on the Double Down:

Sliced bacon (7.4 g) = 39.88 calories
2 Original Recipe fillets (192 g) = 335.62 calories

Colonel's Special Sauce (0.5 oz.) = 73.67 calories

1 slice pepper Jack cheese (14 g) = 48.54 calories

1 slice Monterey Jack cheese (13 g) = 45.83 calories

Total: 543.54 calories

Rounded Label Data: 241 g = 540 calories

The CityRag.com breakdown:

2 Original Recipe fried chicken breasts = 720 calories, 42 grams of fat

2 1 oz. slices of cheese = 200 calories, 18 grams fat

2 servings of sauce = 200 calories, 20 grams fat

2 strips of bacon = 70 calories, 6 grams of fat

Total: 1,190 calories and 86 grams of fat

So, is the Double Down really only 540 calories? According to both sides, the answer is no. But the lab-certified ingredient list puts it at 543.54 calories, which is only 3.54 calories off -- compared to the CityRag estimate, which is 646.46 calories off.

Regardless, it's evident that at least one error was made in the CityRag math, and without actual weight comparisons on the cheese and bacon, I'd offer that the calorie counts on those as listed by the blog are erroneous as well -- by a much larger margin.

I guess there's only one thing left to do. I'm going to have to go get a Double Down and weigh each ingredient myself. And it'd be a shame to waste that food, so I suppose I'll have to eat it as well. And I'll be able to tell my wife it's all in the name of journalism.