McDonald’s is reacting to a shift in consumer tastes toward healthier, more natural foods and competing with other restaurants that are overhauling their menus to feature items free of processed ingredients.
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The changes include removing high-fructose corn syrup from burger buns and eliminating artificial ingredients from Chicken McNuggets and other products, the Associated Press reported.
The changes come as the chain tries to win back customers after three straight years of declining guest counts.
Chipotle was among the first major chains to make ethical food choices a core part of its message (food safety issues have since proved vexing for that brand), but more recently major players like Wendy’s, P.F. Chang’s and California Pizza Kitchen have gotten in on it. Buzzwords like “local”, “sustainable” and “responsibly raised” are rippling through the industry. McDonald’s past year returned to its original Egg McMuffin recipe, which calls for butter instead of liquid margarine because many consumers didn’t understand exactly what liquid margarine is, the company said. The menu items will continue to cost the same at McDonald’s more than 14,000 restaurants in the U.S. 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.
McDonald’s is debuting new buns without high-fructose corn syrup for an array of its sandwiches. “I don’t think this is ever going to be complete”. The profits have lowered since we all got clued up on the crap we were putting into our bodies, and so they’re rolling out some more healthy, positive changes.
As the company admitted the overhaul will take six months to implement, Marion Gross, senior vice president for supply chain at McDonald’s, said that was down to the sheer volume of how much food the company sells.
McDonald’s USA President Mike Andres told reporters at the company’s headquarters that the changes announced on Monday will affect about half its menu and more adjustments would follow. To that end, new dishes like the Egg White & Turkey Sausage Bowl sautéed with baby spinach and kale, and the Artisan Grilled Chicken made with 100% chicken and no antibiotics complement many of McDonald’s core menu items.
Which has fewer calories – Chipotle, McDonald’s or Panera?
Bosses at the global franchise have confirmed your Big Mac buns – as well as the buns for your Quarter Pounders with Cheese, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, Filet-O-Fish and McChicken sandwiches – are set to be affected. She devours it all in just 11 minutes and 35 seconds, but states that she wasn’t aiming for speed – she just really wanted to eat a tonne of Maccy Ds!
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McDonald’s is not the only restaurant that wants to remind consumers that its food is, well, real food.
