No Double Down here, KFC Canada said Monday.

After months of maximum hype, the Colonel’s chicken empire introduced its latest “sandwich,” the Double Down, which uses two slabs of fried chicken in place of the bun. In between are bacon, cheese and sauce.

All for just 540 calories, 32 grams of fat and 1,380 milligrams of sodium.

But while the buildup to Monday’s DD debut “generated more buzz than any test market item in KFC history,” according to the U.S. company, KFC Canada isn’t biting.

“It is not going to be launched in Canada,” said a spokesman here. “KFC Canada is a very separate company” with the philosophy of “let them test it first and see how it is doing.”

For months, part of the speculation online and elsewhere was that the Double Down was a hoax. Indeed, food industry consultant Darren Tristano was called on Monday to explain what KFC was thinking by creating a sandwich with practically a full day’s dose of sodium in one serving.

“They’re targeting working-class consumers that have less discretionary income. It’s about quantity. Whether we like it or not, this product will appeal to a signficant portion of the consumer base,” he told salon.com.

“It appears to be achieving the goal, which is to get people interested. Freak shows are disgusting but everyone seems to want to go to them anyway. I’m probably going to try one.”

Calling it a “legendary sandwich,” KFC vice president of marketing Javier Benito explained the advance publicity blitz by saying, “We want fans to have time to arrange their scheduled in advance.”

Monday’s splash included a defensive note from KFC, which pointed out how wrong speculation was about its calorie whack. At 540 per sandwich, DD is “similar to many of the burgers available at fast food restaurants.” Plus, the grilled DD is a scant 460 calories.

Since the 240-gram fried Double Down has only 30 more calories than the 176-gram EC Chicken Breast and only 130 more milligrams of sodium, the sandwich is not something Canadians can just replicate for themselves with two KFC chicken breasts, a slice of Monterey Jack cheese and another of pepper jack cheese and two slabs of bacon soaked in the Colonel’s sauce.

The KFC nutrition guide doesn’t break down the Colonel’s top-secret sauce, but does disclose that just 57 grams of its Caesar dressing packs 26 grams of fat and 540 milligrams of sodium by itself.

The grilled Double Down has fewer calories and fat than its fried cousin but more sodium, clocking in at 1,430 milligrams, putting it in the top-10 saltiest items on the KFC menu, although not the in the same league as the mashed potatoes with gravy (2,260) and the chicken pot pie (1,760).

KFC commands 90 per cent of the fast food fried chicken market in Canada, according to Priszm Income Fund, which holds 60 per cent interest in the company that owns and operated KFC.

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