Fast Food Industry

Barely 300 feet separate Fullerton Union High School from a McDonald's restaurant on Chapman Avenue. Researchers say that's boosting the odds that its students will be super-sized. Teens who attend classes within one-tenth of a mile of a fast-food outlet are more likely to be obese than peers whose campuses are located farther from the lure of quarter-pound burgers, fries and shakes.

Before the recession, Andrew Puzder, who heads the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's burger chains, liked to joke about how sharp-priced competitors were "giving food away." As the recession deepened and the number of 79-cent taco and 99-cent hamburger offers exploded, Puzder realized it was "no longer a joke; they are giving food away." Literally. On Monday, KFC gave away a free piece of its new grilled chicken just for the asking.

When I watch the Carl's Jr. commercial featuring "Top Chef" host and mega-model Padma Lakshmi make hot sweet love to a Western Bacon Cheeseburger, I have many thoughts, some of which, I confess, are not entirely to my credit. The spot features the former Mrs. Salman Rushdie sitting on a brownstone stoop in a clingy sundress hiked up mid-thigh, cramming the giant burger into her educated maw and sucking barbecue sauce from her fingers and wrists.

A regulation banning the establishment of new fast-food restaurants in South Los Angeles is unlikely to curb obesity rates, according to a study by researchers at Santa Monica think tank Rand Corp. Concerned about high levels of obesity, the lack of traditional grocery stores and a proliferation of fast-food eateries, the Los Angeles City Council approved a moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in one of the poorest sections of the city last year. It has extended the ban through March of next year.

When it comes to marketing movies to kids, fast food wasn't to Disney's taste. But 20th Century Fox sees nothing wrong with a Big Mac. The News Corp. studio has struck a partnership with McDonald's for five of its major movie releases through 2010, beginning with the summer sequels "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" and "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs."

The Klaus family has lived the fast-food industry's nightmare: people getting sick from \o7E. coli\f7. A few days after picking up a dinner of hamburgers and chicken nuggets at a Wendy's drive-in, the Salem, Ore., family received a call from county health inspectors inquiring whether they had eaten food from the chain. JoAnn Klaus already knew something was wrong: Her 4-year-old son, Evan, was hospitalized with diarrhea and dehydration, and 23-month-old Scott had similar symptoms.

Fast-food sales will stay flat in the year ahead, but the trendy quick-casual segment will see revenue grow by 20%, according to the author of an industry forecast released Wednesday. Quick-casual, which includes chains such as Baja Fresh and Boston Market, should see its market share grow to $6 billion, said Andrew Barish, a restaurant analyst at Banc of America Securities.

Fast-food restaurants are pondering how to deal with a new California law that tells restaurants to make more nutritional information available to customers. For now, eateries must make brochures with calorie counts and other nutritional information readily available. In 2011 they will have to post the information on their menus and menu boards. Panda Express, the Rosemead-based chain that dominates the Chinese food segment of the quick-serve market, is trying to get ahead of the curve.

Two federal lawmakers have introduced legislation to require fast-food and other chain restaurants to post calories on menu boards and food display tags. The chains also would have to put information about calories, fats, carbohydrates and salt on printed menus. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) on Thursday introduced the Menu Education and Labeling Act, called the MEAL Act for short.

Is it a sandwich or a taco? A snack or a meal? The Sammie, the newest product from Quiznos, can fit just about any category. The 200- to 300-calorie concoction of meats and greens folded into flatbread sells for $2. It's a key ingredient in Greg Brenneman's recipe to reshape the 5,200-restaurant sandwich chain, along with delivery, online ordering, new venues like airport kiosks, colleges and probably a big-box retailer.