In September 2002, McDonald's issued the following Press Release:
McDonald's USA Announces Significant Reduction of Trans Fatty Acids with Improved Cooking Oil.
Reduction Is Major Step Toward Goal of Eliminating Trans Fats From Cooking Oil.
OAK BROOK, Illinois. McDonald's USA announced today a significant reduction of trans fatty acids (TFAs) in its fried menu items with the introduction of improved cooking oil in all of its 13,000 restaurants -- a major step toward McDonald's goal of eliminating TFAs from its cooking oil. The new oil will reduce French fry TFA levels by 48%, reduce saturated fat by 16% and dramatically increase polyunsaturated fat by 167%. While the total fat content in the fries remains unchanged, health experts agree that reducing TFAs and saturates while increasing polyunsaturates is beneficial to heart health.
"It's a win-win for our customers because they are getting the same great French fry taste along with an even healthier nutrition profile," said Mike Roberts, President of McDonald's USA. "This leadership initiative is all about giving our customers a wide range of wholesome choices, the highest quality ingredients and the same great taste that they have come to expect from McDonald's. America's favorite French fries are about to get even better."
With this nutrition initiative, McDonald's becomes the first national QSR company to set a goal of eliminating TFAs in cooking oil. The national rollout of the improved cooking oil begins in October 2002 and will be completed by February 2003, according to Roberts. The Company plans to use the new oil to prepare McDonald's French fries, Chicken McNuggets, Filet-O-Fish, Hash Browns and crispy chicken sandwiches."
Global Reduction a Goal
Jack M. Greenberg, McDonald's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, announced that McDonald's is working towards a worldwide reduction of TFAs through enhanced cooking oils as available crop supplies, trade restrictions, country-by-country regulations and customer acceptance allow. As an example, the significant reduction of TFAs and saturated fat will put McDonald's USA in line with McDonald's Europe which already has attained comparable levels.
"McDonald's takes very seriously the fact that our local restaurants serve 46 million customers every day around the world. McDonald's has never hesitated to demonstrate leadership and take action on issues important to our customers, from community support and nutrition to the environment and animal welfare. As a leader in social responsibility, McDonald's will continue to be guided by sound science and leading nutrition experts to do the right thing as we work with our partners around the world to continue to reduce TFAs," said Greenberg.
Ann Rusniak, RD and McDonald's Chief Nutritionist, said, "A majority of nutrition professionals have maintained that McDonald's food can be a part of a healthy diet based on the sound nutrition principles of balance, variety and moderation. However, there is no question that reducing TFAs and saturated fat and increasing polyunsaturates delivers added health dividends based on the latest nutrition research."
Health Professionals Applaud Action
Gregory Miller, PhD, President of the American College of Nutrition, said, "Enhancing the nutrition profile of foods that people know and enjoy is a practical way to help move them closer to achieving nutritional goals. This move affirms the important role that nutrition can, and should play in our everyday lives. I applaud McDonald's for its leadership in this area and urge others to follow their lead."
Dean Ornish, MD, Founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said, "From a nutrition standpoint, this is going to have a major and immediate impact. McDonald's will be positively impacting the nutritional value of meals eaten by millions of consumers every day."
Support from Cargill
McDonald's worked with long-time supplier Cargill, Inc., to find the right formula for the oil to be used in U.S. restaurants. "We worked closely with Cargill and they were very responsive to our requirements for significantly reducing TFAs in our U.S. cooking oil and we thank them for their efforts," said Bruce Feinberg, Senior Director of McDonald's U.S. Quality Systems.
The Press Release was widely distributed with great fanfare and received worldwide acclaim. It is difficult to find a newspaper that didn't cover the story prominently and extensively. It was a major public relations success for McDonald's.
The following graphic, based on information provided by McDonald's at the time of the Press Release, shows just how beneficial the change to the new cooking oil would be.
At some point after the Press Release was issued, McDonald's says that it ran into operational difficulties in attempting to make the change.
McDonald's has made only a token attempt to inform its customers that it had not made the change to the new cooking oil. It has deliberately allowed the public to be misled. Based on a document that we have received, McDonald's has spent a grand total of $457.50 to get the word out to the public that it has not changed the oil. Meanwhile, it has been reaping millions of dollars in additional profits from customers who believe that they are getting the new healthier oil. If many of those customers knew that they had been duped, they would not eat at McDonald's.
In the lawsuit, BTF is asking the court to order that McDonald's take effective steps to inform its customers about its failure to make the change. BTF is also asking that McDonald's make the change to the new cooking oil as soon as possible, just as it promised and represented to the public.
Making the change to the new reduced trans fat cooking oil will not adversely affect McDonald's sales. In fact, PepsiCo reported in July 2003 that Doritos sales had "strong growth driven by Doritos Salsa last year and the move to remove all trans fat from Doritos." McDonald's should see similar sales growth from changing to a healthier oil. McDonald's will have a major competitive edge over its competitors. It's a win-win situation.
* The source for the 30.000 figure is Dr. Walter Willett, who is the Chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health and Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School, as well as being generally recognized as one of the world's top authorities on nutrition. See Harvard School of Public Health report and "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating" at p.73. The Harvard report states that the actual number may be over 100,000 deaths per year based on epidemiological studies. Click here to read the FDA's findings regarding the number of deaths and cases of coronary heart disease caused by the failure to include trans fat labeling on food packaging. Dr. Willett calls partial hydrogenation of oils the "biggest food-processing disaster in U.S. history."
© 2003 BanTransFats.com, Inc.
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