2008 Woodie Awards
McDonald's Nutrition
Rochelle Siegel
Issue date: 11/4/05 Section: Life & Times
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The CEO of McDonald's, Jim Skinner, says that the company will begin placing easy-to-read charts on food wrappers and packaging, listing calories, fat, carbohydrates and sodium. The new packaging will be introduced in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America starting in the first half of 2006.
McDonald's has been blamed for the unhealthy nature of Americans, especially after the 2003 documentary "Supersize Me," which focused on the health risks of an all fast-food diet, and then hit the company with a lawsuit blaming the company for obesity of teenage customers, that suit was later dismissed.
Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, called it "a useful step" but said McDonalds could probably do more.
He wishes that McDonald's would distinguish between the different types of fats, such as trans fats and saturated fats. If Americans knew the differences between these types of fats then they would be able to reduce their risk of heart disease.
Most of McDonald's food is very high in saturated fat and trans fat because it is all fried in a partially hydrogenated oil blend of course. McDonalds has refused in the past to reduce and ultimately eliminate the trans fats in its cooking oils.
Many hope that soon McDonald's will soon begin to go towards making the healthier foods.
McDonald's customers should know that the delicious quarter-pounder with cheese has 730 calories and the Sausage & Egg Biscuit contains nearly half of an adult's recommended fat for the day.
People can find the nutrition information already in McDonald's restaurants, listed in brochures, or it is also available on the companies website. And McDonald's is not the first fast-food restaurant to list the nutritional information for their food. Subway restaurants have a chart listing the nutritional data of their sandwiches at the counter, where customers place their orders.
However, Subway uses these nutritional charts as a marketing tool, since their food tends to be significantly lower in calories and fat than the typical fast-food restaurant.
It does seem more effective for restaurants to place the nutritional information on menu or counter so that people can read the information before they order. "A far better step would be to provide calorie counts right on the menu board, so consumers would have that one critical piece of information before they placed their order," Jacobson said.
Skinner believes that by putting the nutritional information up on the menus at McDonald's could end up slowing down service. He feels the packaging will work.
McDonald's claims that its food can be part of an active, balanced lifestyle. Daily eating habits may change once people see nutritional information on food.