Fury At Milk And Wheat In McDonalds' French Fries

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Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Allergy;  Immune System / Vaccines
Article Date: 20 Feb 2006 - 15:00 PDT

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When McDonalds serves its French Fries, everyone believes they contain just potatoes and cooking oil - even people who are vegan (eat no animal product at all) or allergic to wheat. We trust the company and believe everything they say. Because that is what they have been saying - that their fries are gluten-free.

It has been revealed that McDonald's fries do contain an animal product - Milk. They also contain wheat. There are thousands and thousands of people around the world who are allergic to wheat (mainly because of the gluten in wheat). Surely, out of respect for people who get ill when consuming wheat, the company could have let us know that wheat and milk were being added to its French Fries.

So far, three people in the USA are suing McDonald's because of this.

Debra Moffatt, from Chicago, has celiac disease. She cannot consume gluten, which is present in wheat. If she consumes wheat she experiences serious gastrointestinal problems.

Mark and Theresa Chimiak have a 5-year-old girl who is gluten-intolerant. The little girl, Annalise, became seriously ill after eating French fries in McDonalds. Mark and Theresa, from Florida, are also suing McDonald's.

Nadia Sugich, a vegan, is also suing McDonald's. Vegans do not eat any animal products at all (vegetarians include dairy and eggs in their diet, vegans don't). Had she known the product contained milk she would not have touched them.

What many people find incredible is that McDonald's claimed its fries were free of gluten and milk. It has just added in its web site that its fries do, in fact, contain wheat and milk ingredients - now that people are starting to take it to court.

What is the consumer to do if claims made by fast food centers are completely untrue? How can a parent protect a child if that child has a serious allergy? One minute they claim something is not present, then they say it is after lawyers start saying they are going to be sued.

Now, McDonald's Vice-President is saying that wheat and milk were added to enhance the flavour of the French Fries. There is nothing wrong with that. What is wrong is not telling people about it. Even worse, is telling people there is no gluten in a product when there is - that is dangerous.

Apparently, there is a third ingredient we knew nothing about in McDonald's French fries - a trans fat.

Here are some comments from our readers:

"I am vegan. I have eaten their vegetable burger with fries for many years. I will never do it again. I really hope their vegetable burgers were animal free."

"I really do not know where to take my children any more. I thought these companies had to work under certain rules - rules laid down to protect the public."

"I cannot believe they would deliberately add a potentially dangerous ingredient and still claim their product is free of it. I cannot eat gluten, I get very ill if I do. Each time I go out to eat now, I am going to feel uneasy."

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today