McDonald's to Remove High-Fructose Corn Syrup from Sandwich Buns
August 01 2016 - 12:35PM
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 is also rolling out Chicken McNuggets and
some breakfast items free of artificial preservatives and said it
has curbed the use of chicken raised with antibiotics a year
earlier than planned.
Mike Andres, president of McDonald's U.S. operations, said what
he described as a "sweeping change" will impact 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 ingredients such as
with high-fructose corn syrup, which some research suggests may
cause weight gain and diabetes.
The burger behemoth is also 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
offering. McDonald's last year returned to its original Egg
McMuffin recipe, which calls for butter instead of liquid margarine
-- many consumers didn't really understand exactly what liquid
margarine is, the company said.
The chain has pledged to make other changes aimed at showing its
food is less processed than consumers may realize and more humanely
sourced. 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 has also said it would
serve hormone-free milk.
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., have already removed the sweetener from products or
introduced separate lines without it.
The chemical composition of the ingredient, 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 the compound 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.
Whether the move will boost McDonald's business remains to be
seen. 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 slowed in
the latest quarter.
Mr. Easterbrook said he expected demand for all-day breakfast to
settle down after an initial boost, but that the company expects to
get another lift in the 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 13:20 ET (17:20 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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