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McDonald's Issues Apology in Dispute
Over Beef Flavor in Its French Fries
A WSJ.COM News Roundup
OAK BROOK, Ill. -- McDonald's Corp. has issued an apology for any
confusion surrounding the beef flavoring in its U.S. french fries, a practice
that prompted a lawsuit this month by some Hindus and vegetarians.
"Because it is our policy to communicate to
customers, we regret if customers felt that the
information we provided was not complete
enough to meet their needs," McDonald's said
in a statement on its Web site. "If there was confusion, we apologize."
McDonald's spokesman Walt Riker said he didn't know when the
statement was posted on the Web site, and said it simply reiterates what
the company has said throughout the fry controversy.
"This isn't anything new," he said Thursday.
McDonald's has acknowledged that a small amount of beef flavoring is
added to its french fries during potato processing before they are shipped
to restaurants in the U.S.
It is something that apparently surprised some vegetarians. McDonald's
announced in 1990 that its restaurants would no longer use beef fat in
cooking french fries and that only pure vegetable oil would be used.
On May 1, a lawsuit against the fast-food giant was filed in Seattle on
behalf of two Hindus who don't eat meat and one non-Hindu vegetarian.
They have asked that the suit be certified as a class action on behalf of any
vegetarian who ate McDonald's fries after 1990 under the belief that they
didn't contain meat. The lawsuit seeks an injunction against the use of beef
tallow, which is made from the fat of cattle.
The french-fry category of the official McDonald's ingredient list makes no
mention of beef tallow or beef extract. The top three ingredients in french
fries are potatoes, partially hydrogenated soybean oil and natural flavor.
But McDonald's issued a statement at the time the suit was filed,
acknowledging the presence of a beef flavoring in its fries. "The natural
flavoring consists of a minuscule amount of beef extract," the statement
said.
McDonald's said it never claimed that the fries it sells in the U.S. were
vegetarian.
In India, the Seattle lawsuit was front-page news, and a McDonald's in a
Bombay suburb was vandalized. About 85% of India's population is
composed of Hindus, many of whom consider cows sacred. The company
has said that no beef or pork flavorings are used in its fries in India or in
Muslim countries, a claim repeated on the Web site.
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