The fast-food company’s “sweeping changes” will affect about 50 percent of the menu, said Mike Adres, president of McDonald’s US operations.
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McDonald’s has removed high-fructose corn syrup from its sandwich buns and taken artificial preservatives out of items including Chicken McNuggets as it tries to appeal to diners hungering for more clarity and cleanliness in what they eat. According to reports, the company announced a year ago that it would only use cage-free eggs and move away from using chickens treated with human medicine and antibiotics. “We’ve seen a slew of restaurants announce they’re going cage- free since McDonald’s announced the move”.
The chain is moving forward with the changes as consumers push food companies to serve healthier options with less artificial preservatives. This includes buns used on Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, hamburgers and cheeseburgers, Filet-O-Fish and McChicken sandwiches.
The company eliminated an artificial preservative from the cooking oil it uses to make its Chicken McNuggets.
The company made the announcement on the same day it said it was removing artificial preservatives from many of its products, and that it plans to stop serving buns made with high fructose corn syrup.
On “CBS This Morning” on Tuesday, Moss lauded McDonald’s latest efforts, but cautioned that eating too much fast food could still be bad for long-term health.
“We hope McDonald’s will act soon to make commitments on beef, turkey, and pork – and extend the policy globally”, said Steven Roach, Food Safety Program Director at Food Animal Concerns Trust, a nonprofit that has been pushing food makers to reduce antibiotic use for nearly two decades. Globally, the company said it is doing better with sales rising 3.1 percent, with a 2.6 percent increase in markets in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
“This is only the beginning,”McDonald’s USA President Mike Andres said of the menu changes”.
However, McDonald’s does continue to make strides to incorporate healthier items, such as adding kale and spinach to its salads, and is committed to using cage-free eggs in all US and Canada locations by 2025. It initially was expected to take until March 2017 to fully implement.
But convincing people it serves wholesome food is particularly important for McDonald’s, which has long courted families with its Happy Meals.
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Gross – the supply-chain executive – defended the company’s pace of change, saying that the sheer size of McDonald’s makes systemwide changes a challenge. When humans consume the meat, they’re getting some of the antibiotics.
