McDonald’s to eliminate unpalatable ingredients
McDonald’s, which is trying to shake its image for serving processed junk food, has said it is eliminating some unpalatable ingredients from its most popular menu items.
That includes making Chicken McNuggets and other items without artificial preservatives, and removing high-fructose corn syrup from its burger buns. McDonald’s did not immediately respond when asked about which specific preservatives are being removed.
The changes come as the world’s biggest burger chain fights to win back customers after three straight years of declining guest counts at its established U.S. locations. Major restaurant chains are scrambling to step up the image of their food as they face more competition from smaller rivals promising wholesome alternatives.
“Why go to the position of trying to defend them, if the consumer is saying, I prefer not to have that particular ingredient in my food?” said Mike Andres, president of McDonald’s U.S., during an event at the company’s headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, about its “food journey.”
How meaningful the changes are to customers re- mains to be seen.
Michael Jacobson, executive director for the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, said the moves by McDonald’s don’t seem to address the big-picture problem with restaurant food — the overabundance of calories. For instance, he said swapping out high-fructose for sugar doesn’t make burger buns any healthier.
In the past year and a half, McDonald’s has also switched to butter from margarine for its Egg McMuffins and added kale and spinach to its salads.
Dunkin’ Donuts, for instance, has promised to put more egg in its egg patty. Currently, the patty looks like a fried egg but is a composite of ingredients including egg whites, water, egg yolks and modified corn starch.
As part of its own push to remove artificial ingredients, Taco Bell has said it would switch to actual black pepper rather than “black pep- per flavour.” That’s even as it continues trying to lure new diners with indulgent concoctions and neon-coloured drinks.
Subway has introduced a “rotisserie chicken” and “carved turkey” that have more texture and look more natural than its regular chicken strips and turkey. But convincing people it serves wholesome food is particularly important for McDonald’s, which has long courted families with its Happy Meals.
The company’s sales in its flagship U.S. market have showed i mprovement , helped by the fanfare over the introduction of an all-day breakfast menu in October. In the most recent quarter, though, McDonald’s said sales edged up just 1.8 percent at established locations. That signaled that any excitement from all-day Egg McMuffins could already be losing steam. THE INDEPENDENT