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| The Enormous Omelet Sandwich, all 730 calories of it, debuted Monday at Burger King. |
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Burger King has unveiled a new breakfast sandwich that's a huge bet that not everyone is dieting.
The No. 2 fast food chain debuted its Enormous Omelet Sandwich Monday. The sandwich has one sausage patty, two eggs, two American cheese slices and three strips of bacon.
That works out to 730 calories and 47 grams of fat -- more than a Whopper sandwich, which the Burger King Web site said has 700 calories and 42 grams of fat.
Critics were quick to spring on the latest breakfast offering.
"Americans do not need an Enormous Omelet Sandwich," said Penny Kris-Etherton, a professor of nutrition at Penn State, who noted the sandwich's contents were high in fat and salt and the meal lacked fruit and fiber. "That's too many calories."
According to a joint report by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services, the average American female aged 19 to 50 requires 1,800 to 2,400 calories each day, depending on size and activity level. For men in the same age range, it's 2,200 to 3,000.
A Burger King spokeswoman defended the giant egg sandwich, saying eating one is little different than ordering a full plate breakfast at a local diner.
"It's designed for people who like to start the day with a hearty breakfast," said Denny Post, chief product officer at Burger King.
The Grand Slam breakfast at Denny's, which comes with two pancakes, two eggs, two strips of bacon and two sausage links, has 665 calories and 49 grams of fat, according to the Denny's Web site.
The Fabulous French Toast Platter -- with three slices of French toast, two bacon strips and two sausage links -- contains 1261 calories and 79 grams of fat.
Post said Burger King has a variety of food choices on the menu and that many of the people who liked the sandwich in focus groups were young men with active jobs. "These are not paper-pushers," she said.
Post said Burger King decided to offer the enormous omelet sandwich -- which goes against current trends in the fast food industry of offering more healthy choices -- in response to customers who said they wanted a more filling breakfast.
It has a suggested retail price of $2.99, or $3.49 for the value meal, which comes with fried potatoes and a coffee or juice, according to Post. The hash browns would add 230 calories and 15 grams of fat to the meal.
The new sandwich comes about four months after Hardee's also bucked the "health trend" in fast food restaurants by offering a burger it dubbed the "Monster Thickburger," with 1,400 calories and 107 grams of fat. (For more on the monster burger, click here).
Burger King has been privately held since it was sold by British food conglomerate Diageo to a group led by Texas Pacific Group in 2002.
Hardee's is owned by CKE Restaurants (Research) of California.
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