A man prepares to eat a "Double Down Dog," in Manila on February 3, 2015, a product conceived and introduced by the Philippine franchise of KFC. Fastfood giant KFC in the Philippines has begin selling a hotdog wrapped in fried chicken instead of bread and covered in cheese sauce to the horror of dieticians and amusement of social media users. AFP PHOTO / Jay DIRECTO — A man prepares to eat a “Double Down Dog,” in Manila on February 3, 2015, a product conceived and introduced by the Philippine franchise of KFC. Fastfood giant KFC in the Philippines has begin selling a hotdog wrapped in fried chicken instead of bread and covered in cheese sauce to the horror of dieticians and amusement of social media users. AFP PHOTO / Jay DIRECTO

MANILA, Philippines–Fast-food giant KFC in the Philippines has begun selling a hotdog wrapped in fried chicken instead of bread and covered in cheese sauce to the horror of dieticians and amusement of social media users.

The “Double Down Dog” seeks to exploit Filipinos’ love for hotdogs and fried chicken, KFC Philippines marketing director Errol Magdato said.

“We know that Filipinos are very adventurous when it comes to food and we know how much we love hotdogs,” Magdato said in an e-mail response to queries sent by AFP.

He shrugged off the ridicule that has been heaped on the locally developed product, saying that in terms of calories it was “basically the same or slightly less than” a double cheeseburger and that it has had good feedback from customers.

KFC initially offered the “dog” for two days in late January with only 50 sold in select restaurants, but it has now become part of the menu.

Vegan cook Marie Gonzalez, who runs a gourmet food company in Manila, described the Double Down Dog as “disgusting.”

“An all-meat sandwich is just feeding the illnesses, gout, diabetes and heart disease out there. It’s sad that this is sort of a reflection of what the fast-food industry is,” Gonzales told AFP.

There aren’t any plans to market the product outside the Philippines, but it has spread beyond the country’s borders on social media.

“KFC debuts latest food travesty” said the news website Mashable, while the pop culture website Uproxx called it “KFC’s latest fast food abomination.”