Day 012 - 18 Jul 94 - Page 19
1 second, to attempt to resolve a few unanswered details.
2 In our July 7th telephone conversation, you informed us
that McDonald's will provide a booklet giving this
3 information, to be available in all stores by no later
than October 3rd, 1986."
4
I want to ask you only this question about those
5 passages: How do you react to the description of what you
did as an agreement to make national disclosure of
6 ingredient and nutrition information?
A. There was no agreement in any form. We advised Mr.
7 Gardner and others we were speaking to that it was
something we were going to do, it was the natural process
8 of expansion from where we had already been, and we
proceeded to do it.
9
Q. Then over to tab 13, page 194, a letter from Dewey
10 Ballantine, written on your behalf, July 30th 1986, to
both Mr. Gardner in Texas and Mr. Shelden in California.
11 I do not desire to ask you anything about that, except
this. At the bottom of the page do you see there is an
12 indented paragraph with a blob on it, yes?
A. What page?
13
Q. Page 194.
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. The first page of the letter?
A. Yes.
16
Q. The last sentence reads as follows: "As Mr. Horwitz
17 discussed with you on July 8th, the ingredient booklet was
being revised to include nutrition information from the
18 Hazelton Report". Do you remember that conversation?
A. I believe so, yes.
19
Q. Then, finally, if you go over the page to 195, the third
20 black blob: "We will keep you informed about our progress
in implementing the program and about any major changes in
21 it that would involve Texas or California. Since this
program is voluntary, however, McDonald's does not think
22 it appropriate to commit to providing any specific number
of days' notice prior to discontinuing the program in
23 either of your states". Mr. Horwitz, did McDonald's stick
to its guns in that respect?
24 A. That is correct. Once again there was no agreement.
The Attorney General had requested us committing to giving
25 them two months advance notice. We said, "We are doing
this on our own; there is no need for any commitment of
26 any sort".
27 Q. I want to turn to something different. I think it is
asserted by the defendants in this case, Mr. Horwitz, as
28 you may be aware, that an advertising campaign which
McDonald's conducted in the early part of 1987 by means of
29 insertions in national magazines that, at least, in part
that campaign was (a) misleading to the public, yes?
30 A. That is what they asserted.
