An alliance of consumer, health, and environmental groups have released a new report showing how the nation's top 25 fast food companies by sales stack up on their policies regarding antibiotic use in their meat.

The results are dismal: The report gave 20 of the 25 companies failing grades for not effectively responding to a "growing public health threat by publicly adopting policies restricting routine antibiotic use" in meat.

Of those that passed, only Panera Bread and Chipotle Mexican Grill received an "A" grade. Chick-fil-A received a "B," and McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts received "C's."

These chains beat out the likes of Starbucks, Olive Garden, Taco Bell, and Kentucky Fried Chicken, who were among the many companies assigned big, fat "F's" in the report:

The "Chain Reaction" report and scorecard was assembled and released by the non-profit groups Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, Consumers Union, Food Animal Concerns Trust, Keep Antibiotics Working, and Center for Food Safety.

Their report arrives amid growing concern about antibiotic-resistant superbugs, a problem partially fueled by the rampant use of antibiotics in cows, chickens, and other farm animals raised for food. Such concern has sparked the launch of the Obama administration's five-year plan to combat antibiotic resistance, as well as the Food and Drug Administration's new guidelines aiming to restrict antibiotic use in farm animal products, like meat and poultry, that make it to our dinner plates.

After surveying each of the top 25 restaurant chains based on in-person, email, and traditional mail surveys — as well as public statements — the groups assigned grades to each company. They plan to perform this survey annually to measure improvements.

The five chains that passed have demonstrated that they are limiting the use of medically-necessary antibiotics, or that they completely prohibit antibiotic use altogether in the meat production process, according to the report.

The 20 that received failing grades, which represent the majority of the best-selling food chains in the US, haven't showed that they are responding to this growing problem, the report stated.

"Consumers should be as concerned as the foremost infectious disease doctors are — which is very concerned,” David Wallinga, a senior health officer at the environmental nonprofit the National Resources Defense Council, who contributed to the report, told Time.

Antibiotic resistant "superbugs" have become one of the world's most pressing public health concerns. An estimated two million people become infected with drug-resistant bacteria in the US each year. Of those, at least 23,000 die.

Most farm animals on the planet get antibiotics to fatten them up and protect them from illness. About 80% of the antibiotics sold in the US every year are for farm animals. Overuse of antibiotics on farms isn't the only issue, but it's a huge contributor to the growing threat of a post-antibiotic era: when even minor infections won't be easily treatable with the drugs we have today.

Tech Insider contacted each of the companies or franchises included in the report for their responses. Keep scrolling to read the reactions that we've received so far.

Domino's Pizza — "F"

Tim McIntyre, vice president of communications for Domino’s Pizza:

Our suppliers currently meet all USDA requirements and we don't purchase chicken or beef treated with the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics. We rely on farmers and the veterinarians who support them to determine the best way to raise and treat their animals.

Panera Bread — "A"

Sara Burnett, director of wellness and food policy at Panera Bread:

More than a decade ago we started serving chicken raised without antibiotics - ahead of the industry. We're glad to see that others have followed and proud to have extended our commitment to all of the chicken, ham, bacon, sausage and roasted turkey on our salads and sandwiches.

Chipotle — "A"

Chris Arnold, spokesperson for Chipotle:

We have served meat from animals raised without antibiotics for many years and do more of that than any other restaurant company, so naturally we are pleased to enjoy the highest available grade in this study. While others have made some small steps in a similar direction, the study shows there is more work do be done on this issue within the restaurant industry, and we hope others will follow our lead.

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Burger King tried to make the McWhopper happen in honor of International Day of Peace, but McDonald's refused. So, we combined 6 different menu favorites from fast food rivals as a sign of peace.

Produced by Chris Snyder

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KFC is receiving brutal backlash this week after a disgruntled customer posted a photo of what he claimed was a Chicken Ricebox he got from KFC to Reddit. 

The post appeared on /r/food, a popular subreddit dedicated to delicious-looking photos and recipes from around the world.

The user uploaded a photo of the Chicken Ricebox taken from KFC materials and placed it next to what he said was a photo of a Chicken Ricebox he'd actually received. Some members of this foodie-centric group of Redditors found the difference in appearance between the two photos unacceptable. 

Here's the submitted side-by-side image from user atheistlee:The customer claimed in the comment section that he paid £6.08 for the meal at a UK location. That adds up to $9.23.

Though many Redditors sympathized with the customer, calling the photo "unacceptable" and "disgusting," there were several users who apparently thought his standards were too high.

The second highest voted comment came from /u/the_k00ler_king, who said, "Come on. You seriously could not expect that [the advertised photo] from a multi-national fast food place, could you?"

Another user adjusted the lighting on the photo, arguing that a better camera would have resulted in a much better comparison. 

Here's the "fixed" version:

This resulted in some improvement, but the two dishes still didn't look identical.

Of course, there's the possibility that this was a hoax. Just this spring, a Facebook user achieved virality by claiming that an oddly shaped piece of chicken from KFC was a "fried rat." It turned out to just be a piece of chicken.

We reached out to KFC to find out whether they think this particular photo actually shows a meal from KFC. A spokesperson responded with this statement, which they also provided to the Daily Mail: 

We are really sorry about this. Clearly this Ricebox was not served as it should have been and we are in contact with the customer to apologise. 

We are also reminding all of our restaurants of the right way to serve Riceboxes. We always want our customers to be happy with both the look and taste of their food so this is very disappointing.

Plenty of consumers have sought to compare fast food meals' presentation in advertising with the way they look in real life. Last year, YouTube channel MediocreFilms released a video called "Fast Food ADS vs. REALITY Experiment." The hidden camera exposé aimed to demonstrate the lackluster appearance of iconic meals like the Big Mac or Whopper. 

The video now has over 8 million views and counting.

There is also an entire subreddit called "Expectation vs Reality," where many of the posts are food items from fast-food restuarants or the frozen food section. 

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KFC customers are complaining that the chain's newest menu item in the UK looks nothing like advertised.

The new "ricebox" contains steamed rice, lettuce, bean salsa, and a choice of fried chicken or barbecue pulled chicken.

In ads the dish looks delicious, resembling a Chipotle burrito bowl with an ample serving of crispy fried chicken on top.

But in reality, customers say the portions are much smaller than they appear, with barely any rice and soggy chicken drenched in a cream sauce.

This photo of a customer's order next to the advertised "rice box" is going viral on Reddit.

Other customers have posted photos of their less-than-appetizing orders on Twitter.

KFC has had similar issues in the past with new menu items. 

Soon after releasing a "nacho box" in Australia last year, the company began fielding complaints that the cheese was moldy and that the item looked nothing like what was advertised.

We reached out to KFC for comment and will update when we hear back. 

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KFC and Pizza Hut may not be standard economic indicators, but they're flashing a warning sign about the state of the Chinese economy right now.

Yum Brands, the US food giant that has made an enormous push into China, came out with some grim results late on Tuesday. The stock plunged 19% in after-hours trading.

The company owns KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut, and as Business Insider's Akin Oyedele notes, more than half of its business is done in China.

"China is all that really matters, and results there and outlook were significant disappointments," Morgan Stanley's John Glass said.

So it's not good news for the company or the country that KFC sales rose by only 3%year-on-year.

Pizza Hut's performance is even more worrying, with a 1% fall. By Chinese standards, those are pretty dreadful growth figures.

In recent years, with consumer spending struggling in the world's advanced economies, reliance on China has been a good bet. Yum's share price rose by 120% between May 2010 and May 2015, for example:

But China is now making a difficult transition away from the investment binge of the post-2008 period, toward a services-led consumer economy, which is often called the "middle-income trap." It's a leap not everyone manages to make.

For that, Chinese manufacturing will probably grow at a far less spectacular pace, and it will build less, too. Part of the recent slump in commodity prices has been because of falling Chinese demand — the world simply won't need as much concrete, for example, if the country's astonishing city-building programmes aren't so necessary anymore.

Yum has a huge presence in China — it now has 4,889 KFC outlets and 1,705 Pizza Hut units. That flaccid growth isn't just a statistical blip.

Here's what Yum CEO Greg Creed had to say:

The pace of recovery in our China Division is below our expectations. Outside of China, our Taco Bell and KFC Divisions continued to sustain their positive sales momentum while Pizza Hut was relatively flat. Given our lower full-year expectations in China, combined with additional foreign exchange impact, we now expect 2015 EPS growth to be well below our target of at least 10%.

Yum suffered from bad press as a result of food supplier safety issues. But analysts doubt that's what's behind the weak numbers.

"While it is still early days since lapping the OSI supplier incident in late July, the top line recovery in China is once again slower than expected, and in our view is another piece of evidence that the issues reach well beyond those related to the food quality concerns," Glass said. "China comps of 2% for the quarter were vs our 8-10% and worse even than the most bearish projections of +5-7%."

"At this point, its hard to imagine that its simply the supplier issue weighing on sales," Glass continued, adding that "macro pressures" likely contributed to the weakness.

The results are the opposite of those seen by Nike, with footwear sales up by an impressive 36%. Strong sales of things like footwear and fried chicken are exactly what China wants to see right now.

It's worth noting that companies like KFC and Pizza Hut don't have the same down-market reputation in China as they do in the US or Europe. Being able to eat at them is a pretty middle-class spending choice.

The way China's growing middle class chooses to spend (or not) will make or break those rebalancing efforts, and that matters for the whole world given the way the country has propped up global growth since the 2008 financial crisis.

If China won't eat KFC, the world has a problem.

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Fast-food restaurants are eating up Apple Pay.

Apple Pay will expand to Starbucks, KFC, and Chili's in 2016 in its goal to "replace the wallet," said Jennifer Bailey, Apple's VP of Apple Pay and Internet Services, on-stage at Code/Mobile in Half Moon Bay. 

Apple's payments system, which lets people store credit cards and loyalty cards on their phones, already lets coffee lovers fill up their Starbucks card to pay at the register. Starting in 2016, Starbucks will start piloting Apple Pay in a few stores before expanding to the 7,500 corporate-owned stores, Bailey said.

The expansion into more food locations is part of a larger restaurant shift. Talking to restaurant owners, she said she found that restaurant-goers spend 25 percent of their time waiting for the check.

Chili's is going to cut down on that wait-time by installing Apple Pay at the table. Chili's already installed tablets at every table, and the roll-out in 2016 will let restaurant-goers skip waiting for the bill and be able to pay right at the table.

Bringing Apple Pay into the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain was a special one for Bailey, too. 

"KFC has a special place in my heart. it was my first job ever," Bailey said. 

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KFC is struggling.

The chain has been trying to revive businesses following crippling food safety scandals in China, but its turnaround has been moving slower than planned.

The company has hired a new mascot, released black and pink burgers in China, and launched a millennial-friendly chicken bucket that prints photos from customers' phones.

Now, the chain is trying to appeal to comic lovers.

KFC teamed up with the makers of Batman and Superman to create a comic book featuring its founder and mascot, Colonel Sanders, battling the Justice League of America.

The book depicts "early events in the Colonel’s life that eventually led to the discovery of his real super power: the combination of a pressure cooker and secret blend of 11 herbs and spices, better known as his world-famous original recipe chicken made the hard way," according to the company.

It's called "Kentucky Fried Chicken Presents: The Colonel of Two Worlds."

KFC was handing out free copies of the comic book to Comic Con attendees and others in New York City this week.

KFC's same-store sales grew just 3% in the most recent quarter.

The company's stock fell more than 19% immediately after reporting disappointing earnings last week.

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Yum Brands has split off its Chinese company — and that could be great news for the business. 

While the parent company to KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut has seen US and international sales rise in recent years, the Chinese business has consistently been troubled. 

Now, Yum Brands' main and Chinese businesses will be two separate, publicly-traded companies.

Sales have been tanking for more than three years in China, in many cases in the double digits.

So what caused the decline?

KFC has been plagued by food safety scandals. Last year, a supplier was shut down after a news report showed factory workers using expired meat. 

As more Western brands like Starbucks and McDonald's expand in China, the brand experiences stiffer competition, according to a report by Citi Group. 

The brand has also falsely been accused of using mutant chickens, leading to an erosion of trust among Chinese consumers.

But the prospect of Yum's China business still might appeal to many investors, given the company's reach. 

KFC is the largest restaurant chain in China, with more than 4,500 locations. 

The company says it plans to take advantage of growth opportunities in China, where a rising middle class is seeking out Western fast food chains..

Yum China will be led by Micky Pant, who was appointed CEO in August, while Greg Creed will continue to lead Yum Brands.

KFC's US business has been performing well. 

The brand resurrected Colonel Sanders, the brand's founder and mascot, after a 21-year hiatus. The brand is also selling a $5 value meal that has been driving sales.

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Soon, you’ll be able to eat all the KFC you want in one sitting for about $20 – if you live in Japan.

The chicken chain is opening an all-you-can-eat buffet location in Osaka, Japan, reports RocketNews.

Customers will pay between $16 and $21 for 90 minutes of access to a buffet filled with fried chicken as well as about 60 other KFC menu items, including biscuits, coleslaw, rotisserie chicken, and salad. Children’s prices will be even lower, and kids under the age of four will eat for free.

The new restaurant will be located in the gigantic Expo City entertainment complex, which is opening on November 11 on the site where the 1970 World Expo was held.

According to RocketNews, the location has a special significance for KFC. In 1970, the United States pavilion at the World Expo housed the very first Kentucky Fried Chicken trial restaurant in the country.

All-you-can-eat KFC has been an elusive promise for chicken lovers around the world. In September, Japanese KFC locations offered unlimited fried chicken, fries and unlimited drinks for one day to celebrate Colonel Harland Sanders' birthday.

Meanwhile, in the US, a few fabled all-you-can-eat KFC buffets reportedly exist, including one in Banning, Calif.

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Fast-food chains get a bad rap, especially when what you order brings on a food coma posthaste. While we know that what you eat for lunch affects your productivity for the rest of the day, this doesn't mean you have to rule out convenience for the sake of healthy choices.

Plenty of chains offer meal options that are heavy on the protein and healthy fats and easy on the carbs and bad fats, which is just what you need to avoid the 3 p.m. slump, says Lisa DeFazio, a healthy-lifestyle expert and registered dietitian.

Take Chipotle: An oversize burrito is probably not the best thing for your productivity, but bowls and other less-carb-heavy options with lots of protein and healthy fats like avocado will give you just what you need to feed your brain without overdoing it, DeFazio says.

DeFazio recommends these healthy fast-food lunch options that will keep you from passing out at your desk:

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Chipotle

Three soft tacos with steak or chicken, fajita vegetables, guacamole, and green tomatillo salsa

Protein: 39 grams

Carbs: 57 grams

Healthy fat: 28 grams

Bad fat: 8.5 grams

Nutritional content may vary and is based on company guide.

Burrito bowl with steak or chicken, brown rice, black beans, fajita veggies, guacamole, and green salsa

Protein: 44 grams

Carbs: 76 grams

Healthy fat: 29 grams

Bad fat: 6.5 grams

Nutritional content may vary and is based on company guide.

Salad with lettuce, chicken or steak, black beans, fajita vegetables, and chipotle-honey vinaigrette

Protein: 39.5 grams

Carbs: 48 grams

Healthy fat: 26.5

Bad fat: 6.5

Nutritional content may vary and is based on company guide.

Video of an Iraq War veteran's emotional testimony before the Atlanta Wage Board is going viral. The video of the former Marine has garnered nearly one million views on Facebook and more than 23,000 shares.

"I don't want my son to look at me like I'm something less because I have to work for $7.25. And I bust my butt every day, and I take pride in what I do, gentlemen," Derrell Odom said in the video.

Odom, who works at Kentucky Fried Chicken, said that he served two tours in Iraq, was wounded in combat, and was awarded the Purple Heart. Now, he struggles to make ends meet.

"I worked 45 hours this week and my manager pulled me over to the side and told me that you can't have these five hours of overtime at time-and-a-half," Odom said. "She told me she was going to take my five hours and put them on next week's check so she wouldn't have to give me my time-and-a-half."

Hundreds of protests in cities across the nation have popped up to increase the minimum wage to $15 dollars an hour, and it has been a top issue for the 2016 presidential candidates.

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Fast-food battles are once again good news for frugal customers, as Burger King slashes the price of chicken nuggets.

On Thursday, the burger chain announced that it was bringing back the deal that offers 10-piece chicken nuggets for only $1.49. The chain previously debuted the nugget promotion in January, as well as last October.

For comparison, last week, 10 chicken nuggets in New York City cost almost four times as much, at $5.89 — some of the most expensive fast-food nuggets around.

The deal comes at a time when fast-food chains are battling it out to establish themselves as the low-price leader in the industry.

Earlier this week, news broke that McDonald’s will offer a “McPick 2” deal that allows customers to pick two of the following items for $2: a McDouble, a McChicken, small fries, and mozzarella sticks. The deal, which will roll out starting January 4, will help kick off a broader value platform that McDonald’s is planning to roll out next year.

In October, Wendy’s started offering a “4 for $4” meal of a junior bacon cheeseburger, four chicken nuggets, small fries, and a drink for just $4. The promotion helped drive solid sales at the chain, which saw same store sales rise 3.1% in the third quarter.

Outside of the burger industry, KFC is offering a $5 “Fill Up” meal that includes an entree, drink, several sides, and a dessert for $5.

While these chains want to become customers’ go-to spot for offering the best value and lowest prices, the fast-food industry is increasingly turning away from a “Dollar Menu” mentality.

Franchisees at chains like McDonald’s are known for their distaste for offerings that cost just $1, which result in thin — if any — profit margins, especially as costs associated with ingredients and labor increase. By launching short-term promotions for a bundle of offerings that are slightly more expensive than $1, companies are able to increase traffic and entice customers into buying an entire meal.

One in four of McDonald’s customers are primarily focused on value, according to company executives.

With low-prices as the No. 1 priority, customers can easily be swayed by promotions — something that makes them a prime target for fast-food chains hoping to boost sales. As chains fight to win over these customers, consumers win, with lower-priced nuggets, burgers, and even mozzarella sticks.  

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Yum! Brands has announced the retirement of CFO Patrick Grismer.

Grismer has served as CFO at Yum since 2012 and worked in various senior finance and planning positions at the company since 2002. 

Grismer will remain with the company until February 19, 2016. He will help finalize the company's 2015 Form 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

He will also present at the company's upcoming investor conference in Plano, Texas, on December 10, Yum! Brands said in a press statement. 

The company will conduct a search of internal and external candidates to identify a successor. No further details about the search have been revealed at this time. 

"Pat has added tremendous value as CFO of our company and has been an excellent partner to me," said CEO Greg Creed. "I respect his personal decision to move to be geographically closer to family members, and I wish him all the best."

Yum! Brands operates more than 41,000 restaurants in more than 125 countries and territories. The company's restaurant brands include KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell.

In October, Yum Brands announced that it would split into two publicly traded companies.

The first company, Yum China, operates as a franchisee in mainland China while Yum Brands operates the company's three restaurant brands throughout the rest of the world. 

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KFC's current ad campaign features comedian Norm Macdonald as a cartoonish Colonel Sanders, but the fast-food icon was a real person who followed an unlikely path to creating a multibillion-dollar international company.

The real Col. Sanders, who died on this day in 1980 at the age of 90, was an entrepreneur who didn't become a professional chef until he was 40, didn't franchise Kentucky Fried Chicken until he was 62, and didn't become a legend in the industry until after he sold his company at 75.

According to a 1970 New Yorker profile by William Whitworth, as well as biographies from Bio and the University of Houston, here are the highlights of the Colonel's remarkable rise to success.

Harland Sanders was born in 1890 and grew up on a farm in Indiana. When he was 6 years old, Sanders' father died, leaving him to take care of his younger brother and sister while his mom spent long days working. One of these responsibilities was feeding his siblings, and by age 7 he was already a decent cook, according to the New Yorker.

His mom remarried when he was 12. Because his new stepfather didn't like the boys around, Sanders' brother was sent to live with an aunt while he was sent to work on a farm about 80 miles away.

Sanders soon realized he would rather work all day than go to school, so he dropped out in the seventh grade.

In addition to a stint in Cuba with the Army, Sanders spent the first half of his life working a series of odd jobs, including stoking the steam engines of trains throughout the South, selling insurance, selling tires, making lighting systems, and operating a ferry boat.

He acquired a service station in Corbin, Kentucky, in 1930 and began serving classic Southern dishes to travelers. The location became known for its food, and Sanders eventually got rid of the service station's gas pump and converted the location to a full-fledged restaurant.

His breakthrough came in 1939 when he found that frying his chicken and its signature "11 herbs and spices" in a new device, a pressure cooker (different from the ones used today), resulted in the ideal consistency he had been looking for.

Sanders' restaurant enjoyed great popularity over the next decade, and in 1950 the governor of Kentucky named him colonel, the highest title of honor the state can give. Sanders began dressing the part, adopting the white suit and Kentucky colonel tie that would help make him a pop-culture icon.

In 1952, he made a deal with his restaurateur friend, Pete Harman, to sell his chicken dish as "Kentucky Fried Chicken" in exchange for a 4-cent royalty on every piece sold. After it became a top-selling item, Sanders made the same deal with several other local restaurants.

Things were going great, but when a new interstate bypassed Sanders' restaurant, it spelled doom.

He sold the location at a loss in 1956, leaving his $105 monthly Social Security check as his only income. Sanders then decided that he was not going to settle for a quiet retirement.

Since he'd closed his restaurant, the Colonel decided to dedicate himself fully to the franchising side project he'd started four years earlier.

He hit the road with his wife, the car packed with a couple pressure cookers, flour, and spice blends. He would enter a restaurant, offer to cook his chicken, and then make a deal if the owner liked what they tasted.

By 1963, Sanders was fielding franchise requests without having to put in the legwork, and had more than 600 restaurants across the US and Canada selling Kentucky Fried Chicken. That October, he was approached by John Y. Brown, Jr., "an aggressive young lawyer" as the New Yorker puts it, and a venture capitalist named Jack C. Massey who wanted to buy the franchise rights.

Sanders was initially reluctant, but after weeks of persuasion, he agreed to sell his rights for $2 million ($15.1 million in 2015 dollars) in January 1965, and the deal went through in March.

Under the contract, the company Kentucky Fried Chicken would establish its own restaurants around the world and would not compromise the chicken recipe. Sanders was to have a lifetime salary of $40,000 (later upped to $75,000), a seat on the board, majority ownership of KFC's Canadian franchises, and would serve as the company's brand ambassador.

Sanders wasn't happy to let go of his baby, but at 75, he decided that it would be best to see his company continue to grow beyond his capacity.

The New Yorker profile noted that some of his friends believed Sanders was shorted on the deal, but it also shows that Sanders turned down stock in the company and did not negotiate for a higher price.

It seems Sanders' pursuit was never really about becoming rich, but rather about becoming renowned for his food. That's why he constantly grumbled and swore about the more profitable but lower quality gravy that the corporate KFC began producing.

"If you were a franchisee turning out perfect gravy but making very little money for the company and I was a franchisee making lots of money for the company but serving gravy that was merely excellent, the Colonel would think that you were great and I was a bum," a KFC executive told the New Yorker. "With the Colonel, it isn't money that counts, it's artistic talent."

Sanders spent the latter years of his life giving interviews on talk shows and appearing in commercials, like this one from 1969:

The University of Houston, which honors Sanders in its Hospitality Industry Hall of Fame, says that up until his death in 1980, the Colonel traveled 250,000 miles each year visiting KFC locations and promoting the brand in the media.

Brown, who sold his stake in KFC in 1971 for $284 million, became governor of Kentucky in 1979. When Sanders died the next year, Brown said Sanders was "a real legend" and "the spirit of the American dream,"the New York Times reported.

Sanders may have lacked the motivation to become as wealthy as he could have been, but he's now known in 115 countries for his favorite fried chicken recipe, which is more than he ever could have hoped for when he hit the road at age 65 with a car full of cooking supplies.

SEE ALSO: 24 people who became highly successful after age 40

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With 2014 US sales topping $4.2 billion, KFC is second only to Chick-fil-A in the fast-food chicken segment. 

But its largest competitor, Popeyes, is closing in, coming in at No. 3 on the fast-food-chicken list at $2.4 billion in US sales.

But business aside, there's one thing that truly matters: the food. 

Both chains are indisputably at the top of the fried-chicken sector, but who does it best? 

KFC has the advantage of time: Their secret blend of herbs and spices has enjoyed 75 years' worth of perfecting. Yet Popeyes' Cajun approach, be it mild or spicy, has staunch support. 

And of course, one can't try fried chicken without considering the sides.

Who concocts the best coleslaw? Who breads the best biscuit? Who mashes the mightiest potatoes? We're here to find out. 

SEE ALSO: KFC is opening a $16 all-you-can-eat buffet in Japan

PLUS: KFC founder Colonel Sanders didn't achieve his remarkable rise to success until his 60s

For this comparison, we decided to test the following: fried chicken, chicken tenders, mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw, and biscuits.

First up, KFC. How do the special herbs and spices stand up?

The breading is pretty flavorful – not all that crispy, but peppery and savory with a slight buttery taste. You really can't beat the colonel's recipe there. However, the chicken meat is a tad greasy.

KFC's new menu item is already a legend in one part of the country, but the new chicken dish isn't yet available in its namesake city.

The chicken chain is promoting the new Nashville Hot Chicken with an eight-city food-truck tour, kicking off on Thursday. The food truck will stop in cities and towns with no KFC nearby that all happened to be named Nashville, starting in Nashville Village, Ohio and ending in Nashville Town, North Carolina.

The truck will not, however, stop in Nashville, Tennessee, despite the fact that Nashville Hot Chicken is crafted in the style of a Tennessee culinary icon.

"Hot chicken is indisputably Nashville's iconic food: simple in concept, its aggressive flavor isn't one you'll soon forget," Susannah Felts wrote of the dish in Serious Eats last January. "Hot chicken takes something unassailably Southern, heavy, and indulgent — I'm talking regular fried chicken — and makes that dish seem like sissy food."

That's a tall order to replicate, especially when trying to make the dish palatable to customers around the US who may not be used to the super-spicy Southern style. So far, the item has been tested in Pittsburgh, where it received rave reviews— but not in Nashville, Tennessee.

The menu item is rolling out on the tail end of a particularly trendy year for spicy fried chicken. From the world of fast food, with Chick-fil-A on an expansion spree, to celebrity chefs, with Momofuku's David Chang opening fried-chicken concept Fuku, spicy chicken was everywhere in 2015.

KFC has not yet revealed when Nashville Hot Chicken will hit all 4,300 locations, but, hopefully for the company, it will be before the hot-chicken trend loses its fire.

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KFC's new Nashville Hot Chicken is causing a stir in Nashville — and not necessarily for the reason the chicken chain wants.

The restaurant's latest chicken offering began selling nationwide on Monday. The new menu item is based on an iconic Nashville, Tennessee, dish and has been, according to KFC, the most successful product test in the company's recent history.

While the Hot Chicken was a hit when tested in Pittsburgh, some Tennesseans were less impressed, taking to social media to express their dismay.

Sensing a tasty controversy, Business Insider decided to investigate and try the new chicken for ourselves.

KFC is offering Nashville Hot Chicken in on-the-bone and chicken-tender forms, so we purchased both. Each meal cost $6.09 in New York City and came with a biscuit and a side.

The flavors are pretty much identical. If you prefer KFC breasts and wings, buy on-the-bone, while if you'd prefer a more convenient eating experience, go for the tenders.

Having never tasted true Nashville Hot Chicken, I cannot speak to the authenticity of KFC's offering. I can, however, say that it was very tasty.

The chicken is smoky, slightly sweet and semi-spicy. In an event debuting Nashville Hot Chicken, KFC CMO Kevin Hochman said that Nashville Hot Chicken was first crafted, according to modern myths, as a super-spicy revenge dish. KFC's Nashville Hot Chicken certainly packs in some heat, but it is far from the spiciest chicken around. But its complexity of flavor more than makes up for the moderate spice levels.

The most immediate difference between the Hot Chicken and a typical KFC chicken dish is the pickles on top. The pickles are traditional for Nashville Hot Chicken, and create a striking flavor contrast between the spicy chicken and the clean, sour pickle.

While KFC was careful to add the pickles, the chain failed to include the plain, white bread usually served with Nashville Hot Chicken. Hochman noted the change at the launch event, saying that the restaurant decided to use a biscuit as accompaniment instead. For someone who isn't a Hot Chicken traditionalist, the switch works fine.

True Nashville Hot Chicken may be a flavor so unique and fantastic that no chain restaurant can hope to recreate it. But it is also a dish that is out of reach for the vast majority of the country.

KFC's take on the dish is deliciously crispy and flavored with just the right balance of spice, smoke, and slight sweetness. It's a quirky upgrade from KFC's typical chicken dishes, even if it fails to satisfy Nashville purists.

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The Food and Drug Administration recommends an average daily intake of 2,000 calories. 

Healthier, more transparent practices are making their way into the fast-food industry, yet simple awareness isn't always effective.

The Upshot took pictures of 2,000 calories' worth of restaurant food in 2014.

We decided to do our own version and visit 13 fast-food chains to discover what ordering 2,000 calories looks like.

While many of these arrangements look like single meals, each would be all you are recommended to eat in an entire day.

Starbucks

Venti white-chocolate mocha, sausage and cheddar classic breakfast sandwich, dark cherry Greek yogurt, salted caramel cake pop, coffee cake. Total calories: 2,030.

McDonald's

Bacon clubhouse crispy-chicken sandwich, large fries, mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce, Oreo McFlurry. Total calories: 2,010.

Panera Bread

New England clam-chowder bread bowl, chips, chocolate-chip cookie, bottled lemonade. Total calories: 2,160.

KFC is getting a makeover.

The chicken chain is now rolling out a new, fast-casual-inspired design that the brand began testing in 2014. Seventy percent of the brand’s 4,500 restaurants will be updated by the end of 2017, using a revitalization strategy crafted by FRCH Design Worldwide.

FRCH describes itself as a "global brand experience firm specializing in fast casual concepts," which has previously worked with brands including McDonald's, California Pizza Kitchen, and Taco Bell. 

The new design is intended to modernize the chain's appearance, with a cleaner and bolder look. The revamped locations include stark red and white walls, furniture, and decoration.

In addition to traditional tables, FRCH’s prototype also features counter chairs and a semi-circular booth.

The exterior seems calculated to grab potential customers’ attention, with red-and-white stripes, capital letters spelling out the chain’s “WORLD FAMOUS CHICKEN” tagline, and an illustration of Colonel Sanders’ face.

In general, Colonel Sanders is front and center in the revamped locations. FRCH prototypes show quotes by and photos of the Colonel covering the restaurant.

The prominence of Colonel Sanders goes hand-in-hand with KFC's recent efforts to refocus customers’ attention on the Colonel with an ad campaign starring comedian Norm MacDonald.

According to FRCH, the new look is inspired by Sanders’ first restaurant, opened in 1952.

With Chick-fil-A’s recent expansion and the growth of fast-casual chicken concepts more generally, KFC has realized it needs to evolve with the times. One recent update that illustrates the brand’s effort to attract the fast-casual-loving foodie market: the debut of Nashville Hot Chicken, a flavorful chicken variation based on a Kentucky culinary icon.

SEE ALSO: We tried KFC's controversial new chicken — here's why you shouldn't believe the critics

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If you’ve been to a fast-food chain recently, you may have noticed things are looking very different than they once did.

Chains including KFC, Arby’s, and Panera are in the midst of major redesigns, with Subway reportedly planning a similar makeover this summer.

As brands try to shift customers’ perceptions to see the companies as fresher, cleaner, and more modern, the chains are eager to demonstrate these attributes in their design.

KFC is rolling out a new, bold Colonel Sanders-centric design, with plans for 70% of the brand’s 4,500 US restaurants to be updated by the end of 2017.

In 2015, Arby’s completed remodeling 179 Arby’s locations, with the company saying that the redesign correlated with major sales increases. Arby’s new design is part of the company’s “taste-crafted” image, with a deli-inspired setup that locations across the US can mix and match different elements from to fit their needs.

Panera’s redesign has been more tech-centric, rolling out a new design that incorporates digital-ordering kiosks. The company says that the new tech is cutting lines and wait times, as well as decreasing order errors.

From a purely aesthetic standpoint, these redesigns have a few things in common. Especially at KFC and Arby’s, the emphasis is on “bold” and “bright,” in contrast with negative fast-food stereotypes of drab and dirty.

While the redesigns are aggressively modern, they also attempt to tap into customers' senses of authenticity and nostalgia. KFC, for example, features a semi-shrine to Colonel Sanders, while Arby’s is covered in old-school natural wood.

Highlighting food preparation is also a major trend in the US and internationally.

In Japan, McDonald’s remodeled stores to include an open-kitchen design to increase customer trust after a human tooth and pieces of plastic were allegedly found in the food. The fast-food giant has also debuted open-kitchen locations in Hong Kong.

With Arby’s also adding an open kitchen in new stores, the practice may be the new normal as fast-food tries to defeat its negative reputation for serving suspicious food.

In most cases, new technology is less about design and more about functionality, as chains such as McDonald’s, Panera, and Chili’s incorporate tablets in a variety of ways. However, as demonstrated by Panera 2.0, introducing new tech can go beyond adding a few touchscreen devices — it can change the entire set up of a restaurant.

“Fast food” is out, as more and more restaurant chains try elevate themselves as “fast casual” or, in Arby’s case, “fast crafted.” A big part of that is design — so look out for more natural wood, tablets, and open kitchens at fast-food giants in the coming years.

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