Is KFC trying to kill us?

KFC has found itself embroiled in a food controversy as a result of its latest product, the Double Down Chicken Sandwich. Instead of bread, this "sandwich" comprises of two large pieces of fried chicken with slices of cheese and bacon smothered in the Colonel's sauce in between them. Is KFC trying to kill us?

Although there isn't a great deal of information about the sandwich available to the public, this sandwich is real. Jason Kelley of Foodgeekery.com has footage - shot on his cellphone - of a KFC television commercial advertising the sandwich. He also found a KFC restaurant and took pictures of the offending product.

Like Kelley, I was unable to find any information about the "sandwich" on KFC's website. However, I did take a look at the chain restaurant's nutrition guide. Looking at the caloric measure of all the pieces of the "sandwich" individually, one "sandwich" adds up to well over a one thousand calories, close to what medical experts consider more than half the recommended total daily calorie intake for both adult men and women. Add on the fries and soda, and you have a ticket for an early reservation at your nearest cemetery.

I also called KFC's customer service hotline to get more direct answers. The representative I spoke to told me that the "sandwich" is in fact real and that it is being sold as a promotion in certain parts of the country (Fox News reported that it is available in Rhode Island and Nebraska). The representative was unable to tell me exactly where it was being sold but suggested that I call the restaurants nearest to me to check. I called a couple of KFCs in my area as well as a few fast food junkie friends of mine around the country, and none of them had seen this monster "sandwich."

Why is there so much secrecy about this sandwich? While it is commonplace for companies to test out new products in trial regions before they are rolled out on a larger scale, something seems very fishy about this particular one. Could it be that KFC knows that a "sandwich" of such nutritionally grotesque magnitude would strike up nationwide outrage, particularly with America being in the grip of an obesity crisis?

Fast food restaurants are mostly concentrated in areas where there are large populations of racial minorities, immigrants and low income communities and where there are also larger amounts of health disparities and levels of obesity. We know who will be eating this sandwich. Maybe KFC thinks its can get away with selling it because it is being sold to groups of people who have limited power over the types of food they have access to.

My suggestion to KFC is that they eighty-six the sandwich and look to offer healthier options for their customers.

We need your help! Click here to sign up with a group that allows you to have a voice in the design of online and broadcast media. Then tell us how to improve thegrio.com.