Tough Times Push Chains to Try New Fare

Same products contain less salt in Europe, Australia

(NEWSER) - If you're craving some Chicken McNuggets, you're better off getting them in Europe than on this side of the pond. With 1.6 grams of salt per 100 grams of nugget, the American version is packed with more than twice the salt of British McNuggets, which contain 0.6 grams of salt, a study finds. Australian, Kiwi, and French McNuggets all have far less salt than American and Canadian ones, though the UK has the least—perhaps thanks to voluntary limits in the country, NPR reports. More»

Delivery is driving sales growth from Cairo to China

(NEWSER) - McDonald's and KFC are surging ahead in emerging markets like China and India with a service available to few American customers: home delivery. In crowded cities across Asia and the Middle East where pricey real estate makes drive-through restaurants a rare sight, fleets of motorbikes make their way through traffic to deliver American fast food, the Wall Street Journal finds. More»

Nate Silver finds the KFC monstrosity is really only average

(NEWSER) - So by now you've heard of—or God help you, sampled—the gluttonous monstrosity known as KFC's Double Down , but how does it stack up in the less-than-healthy world of fast food? Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight runs the numbers, creating an index of fat, cholesterol, and sodium in which the Double Down rates a 1. He finds worse chicken gut-busters:

• Panera Chipotle Chicken: 1.49. It's not even considered true fast food, but it runs about 50% more of "the bad stuff."