The popular fast food chain announced on Monday that it is making major changes to some of its menu items, including its Chicken McNuggets, in order to provide consumers with healthier ingredients in its popular more healthy options.
Advertisement
That includes making Chicken McNuggets and other items without artificial preservatives, and removing high-fructose corn syrup from its burger buns – changes McDonald’s Australia has already made to its menu.
Stephen Dutton, who analyzes the food industry at Euromonitor International, said McDonald’s is aiming to be more like these newer brands to appeal to health-conscious consumers who like to know what’s in their food and where it came from. This means they will no longer contain sodium phosphates, citric acid, safflower oil and chicken skin.
The menu changes will take about six months to put in place at its restaurants worldwide, including those in Nottingham city centre on Exchange Walk, Clumber Street and Angel Row. And despite the public’s discomfort with multi-syllabic food, Jacobson said the sugar is no less healthy than high-fructose corn syrup.
“From our test kitchens to what we serve in our restaurants, we’re zeroing in on how to bring new flavors and choices some never have seen before on our menu to customers across the country”, said Jessica Foust, director of culinary innovation at McDonald’s Corp.
“Artificial ingredients have been targeted by consumer advocacy and regulatory groups raising flags about health risks”, CNNMoney noted Monday in its report on the McDonald’s announcement. It also follows McDonald’s facing criticism for not being fast enough in introducing such changes compared to smaller rivals such as Chick-fil-A.
Last year, McDonald’s announced plans to stop using chicken that has been treated with antibiotics and has completed this commitment earlier than anticipated. 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.
That move comes as part of a broader effort by the fast-food chain to make its food appeal to those seeking healthier and more natural food.
Such changes, together with its decision in 2015 to buy only chicken raised without antibiotics used to treat humans, affect nearly half the food on McDonald’s menu, the company said.
Mike Andres, president of McDonald’s U.S., said the changes to its supply chain had posed challenges but he was pleased with the progress.
Advertisement
/ Award-winning veteran print and broadcast journalist, Shelly Whitehead, has spent most of the last 30 years reporting for TV and newspapers, including the former Kentucky and Cincinnati Post and a number of network news affiliates nationally.
