McDonald's to Remove High-Fructose Corn Syrup From Buns -- Update
August 01 2016 - 4:49PM
Dow Jones News
By Julie Jargon
OAK BROOK, Ill. -- McDonald's Corp. said Monday it will replace
high-fructose corn syrup in its sandwich buns with sugar as part of
an effort to simplify its ingredients and satisfy increasingly
conscientious customers.
The fast-food giant also is rolling out Chicken McNuggets and
some breakfast items free of artificial preservatives and said it
has curbed the use of chicken raised with antibiotics that are also
commonly used on humans a year earlier than planned.
Mike Andres, president of McDonald's U.S. operations, said the
"sweeping change" will affect 50% of the menu. McDonald's is in the
midst of an attempted turnaround designed to satisfy diners who
have asked it to do away with ingredients including high-fructose
corn syrup, which some research suggests may cause weight gain and
diabetes.
The burger chain also is racing to keep up with rivals who have
been quicker to embrace the so-called clean-label movement. Food
makers from General Mills Inc. to Yum Brands Inc.'s Taco Bell have
begun stripping their products of ingredients that have made many
customers wary.
Since taking over as chief executive last year, Steve
Easterbrook has pushed McDonald's to improve its familiar product
offerings. McDonald's last 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 chain has pledged to make other changes aimed at showing
that its food is less processed and more humanely sourced than
consumers may realize. McDonald's has run ads showing that its
breakfast items are made with freshly cracked eggs and plans to
stop using eggs from chickens raised in cages. McDonald's also has
begun serving some of its milk and yogurt from cows not treated
with an artificial growth hormone.
"Some of the changes may be a little on the late side, but it
was McDonald's that kicked off the move to cage-free eggs," said
Nomura Securities analyst Mark Kalinowski. "We've seen a slew of
restaurants announce they're going cage-free since McDonald's
announced the move."
In the case of Chicken McNuggets, McDonald's eliminated an
artificial preservative in the cooking oil used to fry them.
Artificial preservatives in its pork sausage patties and the eggs
used in some breakfast sandwiches and platters have been replaced
with pea and rice starches.
Once ubiquitous in products ranging from soda to ketchup,
high-fructose corn syrup has fallen out of favor since scientists
and consumer advocates identified a possible link between
consumption of the compound and obesity and diabetes. Many food and
beverage companies, including PepsiCo Inc. and ketchup maker Kraft
Heinz Co., already have removed the sweetener from products or
introduced separate lines without it.
At a press event on Monday, McDonald's supply chain chief,
Marion Gross, said it takes time to make changes at a company with
14,000 U.S. restaurants. "It's been a journey," she said.
The chemical composition of high-fructose corn syrup, derived
from corn, is nearly identical to that of sugar, and it is unclear
whether natural sugar is indeed healthier. Medical research has
reached conflicting conclusions on whether corn syrup causes weight
gain and other health problems.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2008 published a
paper concluding that there is no such link. But a 2010 Princeton
University study found that rats that consumed high-fructose corn
syrup gained significantly more weight than rats that consumed
table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the
same.
Advocates for more healthful food applauded McDonald's efforts,
but said there is still room for improvement.
"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 almost two decades.
Ms. Gross said McDonald's is looking for improvements to every
item on its menu, including the possibility of one day serving beef
raised without antibiotics. "Nothing is out of bounds," she
said.
Whether the moves will boost McDonald's business remains to be
seen. "I think people who are happy to go to McDonald's will still
go, and people who have deep reservations about going to McDonald's
will still have deep reservations," said Mr. Kalinowski of
Nomura.
After the Egg McMuffin was reformulated with simpler, more
natural ingredients last September, its sales leapt by double
digits. The launch of all-day breakfast a month later gave a lift
to sales in the quarters that followed.
But interest appears to be waning. McDonald's sales growth
slowed in the latest quarter.
Mr. Easterbrook said he expected demand for all-day breakfast to
settle after an initial boost but that the company anticipates
another lift this fall when it makes more breakfast items available
all day.
Write to Julie Jargon at julie.jargon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 01, 2016 16:34 ET (20:34 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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