McDonald’s Brings Back The Mega Potato, Highest Calorie Menu Item Ever [PHOTO]

McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) has just announced the return of its highest-calorie item ever: the Mega Potato.

The limited-edition item, which is exclusive to McDonald’s restaurants in Japan, is almost a pound of the brand's famous fries, and contains 1,142 calories, according to Japan Today.

While the calorie count of the specialty item is a giant leap ahead of the world’s largest fast-food chain’s previously named highest-calorie item, the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, which comes in at 750 calories, the Mega Potato is equivalent to two orders of large fries and is intended for two or more people to share.

The Mega Potato will appear on the McDonald’s menu from May 24 through the month of June and will be priced at 490 yen ($4.82).

News of the Mega Potato’s return comes not long after the Illinois-based company made headlines for reportedly planning to shrink its menu in an effort improve restaurant service.

While McDonald’s has always been known to be on the cutting edge of fast-food when it comes to its menu offerings, the sheer complexity of some of its items is apparently causing a slowdown in service.

"It's gotten to the point where the operation has kind of broken down and that's all a symptom of the complication of the menu," Richard Adams, a San Diego-based restaurant franchise consultant and former McDonald's store owner, told Convenience Store News. "They can't make food fast enough."

Despite reports of a slimmer menu on the way, a larger order of fries shouldn’t take much longer to prepare than a regular large-sized order of fries.