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LOS ANGELES - McDonald's Corp. <MCD.N> french fries contain more fat and calories than previously thought and have ingredients that could aggravate some allergies, but the company said on Monday the disclosures showed its commitment to providing accurate nutritional data.
"Consumers should have an extremely high level of confidence in our numbers because of the fact that we continually update them... even if it's not to our advantage," McDonald's head of global nutrition, Cathy Kapica, said in an interview.
The fast-food chain, targeted by critics who say its food is fattening and unhealthy, announced late last year it would start printing nutritional information such as calories, fat grams, protein, carbohydrates and sodium on its packaging.
Last week, however, the company said the printed nutritional information about its fries was incorrect and said the correct data could be found on its Web site.
A large serving of fries has 570 calories, 30 grams of fat and 8 grams of trans fat, not the 520 calories, 25 grams of fat and 6 grams of trans fat as previously disclosed.
Health experts consider trans fats particularly dangerous because they raise cholesterol levels and lead to an increased risk of heart disease. The latest U.S. nutrition guidelines recommend limiting intake of trans fats, and McDonald's has said it is working on reducing trans fats in its cooking oil.
Kapica said a new procedure for determining nutritional content had led to the change. "There is nothing really new here for us because it just shows transparency in action."
Kapica also said the company's decision to comply with U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling standards for packaged foods had led to the disclosure about the presence of wheat and milk allergens in the flavoring used to make its fries.
Kapica said McDonald's move to adopt the FDA standards was voluntary, adding that the company wanted its data to be familiar to those used to reading packaged food labels.
"There is no requirement for a fast-food restaurant to post fast-food nutritional information with the great detail we have up there," she said.
source: http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=governmentFilingsNews&storyID=URI:urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060213:MTFH50090_2006-02-13_21-36-42_N13279059:1 13feb2006
CHICAGO — Not long after disclosing that its french fries contain more trans fat than thought, McDonald's Corp. said Monday that wheat and dairy ingredients are used to flavor the popular menu item _ an acknowledgment it had not previously made.
The presence of those substances can cause allergic or other medical reactions in food-sensitive consumers.
McDonald's had said until recently that its fries were free of gluten and milk or wheat allergens and safe to eat for those with dietary issues related to the consumption of dairy items. But the fast-food company quietly added "Contains wheat and milk ingredients" this month to the french fries listing on its Web site.
The company said the move came in response to new rules by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the packaged foods industry, including one requiring that the presence of common allergens such as milk, eggs, wheat, fish or peanuts be reported. As a restaurant operator, Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's does not have to comply but is doing so voluntarily.
McDonald's director of global nutrition, Cathy Kapica, said its potato suppliers remove all wheat and dairy proteins, such as gluten, which can cause allergic reactions. But the flavoring agent in the cooking oil is a derivative of wheat and dairy ingredients, and the company decided to note their presence because of the FDA's stipulation that potential allergens be disclosed.
"We knew there were always wheat and dairy derivatives in there, but they were not the protein component," she said. "Technically there are no allergens in there. What this is an example of is science evolving" and McDonald's responding as more is learned, she said.
While the company wanted to make consumers aware that fries were derived in part from wheat and dairy sources, she said, those who have eaten the product without problem should be able to continue to do so without incident.
The acknowledgment has stirred anger and some concern among consumers who are on gluten-free diets since it was posted on McDonald's Web site.
"If they're saying there's wheat and dairy derivatives in the oil, as far as anyone with this disease is concerned there's actually wheat in it," said New York resident Jillian Williams, one of more than 2 million Americans with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten.
"They should have disclosed that all along," she said. "They should never have been calling them gluten-free."
It's not the first time McDonald's forthrightness has been called into question concerning what's in its famous fries.
The company paid $10 million in 2002 to settle a lawsuit by vegetarian groups after it was disclosed that its fries were cooked in beef-flavored oil despite the company's insistence in 1990 that it was abandoning beef tallow for pure vegetable oil.
Last February, it paid $8.5 million to settle a suit by a nonprofit advocacy group accusing the company of misleading consumers by announcing plans in September 2002 to change its cooking oil but then delaying the switch indefinitely within months. Reluctant to change the taste of a top-selling item, McDonald's has continued to maintain for the past three years that testing continues.
Asked about the status of those efforts Monday, Kapica said: "It's a very high priority and we are very committed to continuing with testing and lowering the level of trans fat without raising the level of saturated fat. ... It's a lot harder than we originally thought but that is not stopping us."
McDonald's shares rose 3 cents to close at $36.36 on the New York Stock Exchange _ up 8 percent in 2006.
source: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/ap/fn/3656549 13feb2006
McDonald's Corp. said its french fries contain "wheat and milk ingredients" that might cause problems for diners sensitive to these substances.
McDonald's previously had described its fries as free of substances that can cause allergic or other medical reactions in sensitive people. The Oak Brook, Ill., fast-food giant said the change in its ingredient disclosures followed its decision to conform to new federal food-labeling rules, and doesn't reflect any change in the ingredients of its fries or the way they are prepared.
Some people with food-sensitivity conditions previously considered McDonald's fries safe based on information supplied by the company. For instance, some individuals with celiac disease -- an autoimmune condition triggered by gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley -- worried in an online forum that perhaps McDonald's fries have always contained gluten, despite the company's assertions to the contrary.
Cathy Kapica, McDonald's director of global nutrition, said the company's fries include a "natural flavoring" made, in part, from extracts of wheat and dairy products. Dr. Kapica said those extracts are processed in ways designed to remove wheat and dairy proteins, which are the substances generally responsible for triggering allergies or food-sensitivity problems.
Until last week, McDonald's described the flavoring as safe for people with food allergies and other dietary sensitivities. On its Web site, McDonald's listed the fries on a page of menu items "for people with gluten sensitivity." On an "allergies and sensitivities" page, the fries were described as free of gluten and milk or wheat "allergens."
More recently, however, McDonald's decided to bring its nutritional information into voluntary compliance with new Food and Drug Administration food-labeling rules that took effect Jan. 1. Those regulations, which apply to packaged foods but not to restaurant meals, require labels to note the presence of common allergens such as milk, eggs, wheat, fish or peanuts.
Under McDonald's interpretation of the FDA rules, Dr. Kapica said, the company decided to note the presence of the wheat and dairy ingredients used to flavor its fries. "If someone is really sensitive, they need to be aware that this product was at one point derived from wheat and dairy," Dr. Kapica said.
On the other hand, anyone who has eaten the fries without incident "can continue to do so," Dr. Kapica said.
p.B4
McDonald's, the world's largest fast food chain, said in Beijing Sunday that there are no trans-fats in the french fries offered in its Chinese restaurants.
McDonald's China company made the announcement in response to a recent media report about its increased trans-fat content in french fries.
McDonald's admitted last week that its french fries contain a third more trans fats than it previously thought, according to results of a new testing method operational in the United States in December.
The result means the level of potentially artery- clogging trans-fat in a portion of large fries increased from 6 grams to 8, with total fat up to 30 grams from 25. Often used by restaurants and in packaged foods, trans-fats are thought to cause cholesterol problems and increase the risk of heart disease.
The dietary guidelines for Americans issued by a government panel last year said people should consume as little trans-fat as possible.
Facing the french fries risk, McDonald's China company said though food taste in all McDonald's restaurants are the same, there are still tiny differences in the materials used in different countries.
McDonald's said its Chinese restaurants use palm oil to make the french fries, which contains no trans-fats. The rival of McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, also declared that the level of trans-fats in the oil it uses for fried food is very low.
source: http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/811/2006/02/13/167@50412.htm 13feb2006
It was not an announcement McDonald's Corp. wanted to make, or fast-food fans wanted to hear: French fries from the Golden Arches are less healthy than originally thought
Correcting a labeling error, the hamburger giant acknowledged Wednesday that the trans fat content in an order of its large fries is one-third higher than previously stated, containing 8 grams of the heart-endangering fat instead of the 6 grams listed on brochures and McDonald's Web site.
In addition, the Oak Brook-based company said, the total fat content of its large fries is 20 percent higher, 30 grams rather than the 25 grams listed, while total calories rose to 570 from 520.
The company said it would update its publications to reflect the new measurements.
It was a black eye for McDonald's, which in October trumpeted its initiative to print nutritional data on its packages to help consumers make informed choices about what to eat. The packaging is being rolled out in Turin, Italy, the site of the Winter Olympics.
Trans fat is believed to be so dangerous to the heart that the government, which told packaged-food companies they had to begin listing trans fat on nutritional labels this year, recommends consumers limit consumption to less than 2 grams per day.
Trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil, a process called hydrogenation. It extends the shelf life and flavor stability of foods. It is in vegetable shortening, crackers, cookies, snack foods and other foods fried in partially hydrogenated oils.
"This certainly raises questions about their testing or about the vaunted uniformity of their products worldwide," said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food and nutrition lobbying group.
"It is uncertain whether the testing lab goofed, or they had so few samples that some guy in Peoria left the fries in the fryer too long. But 2 grams of trans fat is quite a big difference," he said.
The discrepancy was discovered when the company received results from tests it conducted in December that were taken to validate information the company already had collected, the Financial Times first reported Wednesday.
While nutritional data for the Big Mac and double cheeseburger were accurate, the french fry data differed markedly.
"We continually enhance our testing," said Cathy Kapica, McDonald's global director of nutrition. "That's why the new tests that McDonald's implemented produced the results that we believe are the most accurate today."
Barbara Ingham, a food science professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, said consumers should not worry about the information they receive on most food labels.
"By and large, the information on the label is accurate," she said, noting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration imposes stringent requirements to ensure the data is precise.
Ingham suggested that McDonald's may have encountered a problem with the supplier of its oil or with its equipment. The company said it would continue to test its products.
McDonald's has long acknowledged the problems trans fat can cause and has been trying to develop a better french fry oil for some time. In 2002, the company announced plans to switch to healthier cooking oils.
While it has been successful in developing an oil that can be used to fry chicken and hash browns, it has struggled to find oil that cooks fries to the taste and texture to which customers are accustomed. It is a taste for which the company is recognized worldwide.
Some consumers have become impatient. A year ago, McDonald's agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the fast-food giant of failing to inform consumers of delays in a plan to reduce fat in the cooking oil used for french fries and other foods.
Kapica said the company uses canola oil to cook its fries in Denmark, Israel and Australia.
"It is a challenge for the entire food industry," she said. "We could go back to our original formula and get no trans fat if we used beef tallow. But it is high in saturated fats."
In 1990, the company dramatically altered its fry formula by abandoning the use of beef tallow in cooking fries in favor of 100 percent vegetable shortening. Its biggest rivals, Burger King and Wendy's, also started using vegetable oil in the 1990s.
The company is testing a new oil formula, but officials say they are uncertain if it will be successful.
McDonald's, which about 20 years ago agreed to begin providing nutritional data to settle a lawsuit filed by a number of state attorneys general, isn't certain what happened.
The company explained that it was using a new protocol for testing in the run-up to the Winter Olympics and the introduction of the wrappings and packaging containing the information. There is no indication that any other products are mislabeled, the company said.
The decision to immediately release the information was part of the company's "ongoing commitment to greater transparency," a spokeswoman said.
The disclosure came the same day the company said its U.S. sales in January rose nearly 10 percent. McDonald's shares closed at $36.36, up 17 cents on the New York Stock Exchange.
source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-0602090093feb09,1,3271033.story?coll=chi-health-hed 13feb2006
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