Day 012 - 18 Jul 94 - Page 42


     
     1        The advertisements address a number of nutrition topics of
              importance to McDonald's customers:  A balanced diet;
     2        sodium; McDonald's suppliers; milk; calcium; cholesterol;
              and lean beef.  They are designed to set the record
     3        straight and make more accessible to consumers the facts
              they need to make their own informed choices about their
     4        food purchases".
 
     5        I should have asked you this -- perhaps I already have,
              and if I have I apologise. I think you told us that you
     6        would have been consulted about the terms of these
              letters?
     7        A.  Yes, I would have seen them before they were sent out.
 
     8   Q.  "Over many years McDonald's has taken the lead in the
              restaurant industry in making nutrition and ingredient
     9        information available to consumers.  Nearly a year ago, as
              part of its long-term effort in this area, the company
    10        launched an unprecedented, voluntary pilot program, in
              cooperation with the office of the New York Attorney
    11        General, to put complete nutrition and ingredient
              information in every one of its restaurants in that
    12        state.  In succeeding months it voluntarily extended the
              program beyond New York, first to the District of Columbia
    13        and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut, and eventually to
              the entire nation.  As part of this same program, the
    14        company has distributed to each of its restaurants a
              Nutrition Wheel to enable McDonald's customers to obtain
    15        basic nutrition information for six meal combinations,
              including their total calorie, cholesterol, sodium and fat
    16        content".  Did that happen, the nutrition wheel?
              A.  Yes, it did.
    17
         Q.  "The current advertising campaign supplements these ongoing
    18        efforts.  The advertisements
 
    19        tell consumers that nutrition and ingredient booklets are
              available in McDonald's restaurants;
    20
              stress the importance of balance in the diet;
    21
              urge McDonald's customers to 'make sure your McDonald's
    22        meal balances with other meals you eat';
 
    23        note the importance of avoiding too  much fat and
              cholesterol;
    24
              provide information about the nutritional characteristics
    25        of many of the foods served at McDonald's, including the
              amount of sodium, cholesterol and fat they contain. 
    26 
              The content of the advertisements is similar in tone and 
    27        substance to the content of the nutrition and ingredient
              disclosure booklets, to which your letter does not object.
    28        On the contrary, your letter notes that the booklets let
              consumers 'make their own decisions whether or not to eat
    29        at McDonald's -- and what to eat when they get there'.
              The New York Attorney General's letter calls the
    30        distribution of the booklets a 'substantial  achievement
              for consumers.' The letter from the office of the

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