Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 19, 1994                   TAG: 9407200065
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

FOOD POLICE SAY MEXICAN DISHES NOT SO HOT

First it was kung pao chicken. Then fettucine Alfredo and movie theater popcorn. Now the eat-your-broccoli crowd has found a new health menace: cheese enchiladas.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, the archenemy of salt and fat in the American diet, released its findings for Mexican food Monday, and the news is not good for chips-and-salsa fans.

``To those of us who have enjoyed Mexican food, the results are pretty depressing,'' Michael Jacobson, the organization's executive director, said at a Washington news conference. ``Mexican food is not seen as health food, but I think the numbers will shock anyone who has any concern about health.''

The biggest culprit is fat, a leading cause of heart disease and other health problems. Many of the Mexican food dishes sampled by the Center for Science exceeded the federal government's recommendation for daily fat intake.

Among the worst offenders were chiles rellenos, cheese-stuffed peppers that are battered and deep-fried. Bonnie Liebman, a nutritionist who worked on the study, called chiles rellenos ``the Mexican equivalent of fettucine Alfredo,'' which one of the organization's earlier reports denounced as a ``heart attack on a plate.''

The new food report also panned nachos, cheese enchiladas, fried tortilla chips and beef chimichangas. Refried beans came under attack because they are typically fried in grease.

Taco salads are okay, but only if you skip the ground beef, the cheese, the guacamole, the sour cream and the fried tortilla shell.

The only dish that won honorable mention from the research organization was chicken fajitas. A fajita without beans, rice, sour cream and guacamole has about 24 grams of fat.

The research could deliver a good case of heartburn to owners of Mexican restaurants. The previous report on Chinese food caused businesss to fall off by as much as 50 percent at some restaurants, industry officials said.

The center's criticism of movie-theater popcorn in May also had major repercussions. In response, most major theater chains switched to low-fat cooking.