Day 012 - 18 Jul 94 - Page 44


     
     1   Q.  "Reduced the salt in breakfast sausages; eliminated
              monosodium glutamate".  Does your nutritional wisdom,
     2        Mr. Horwitz, extend far enough to know whether it is -- to
              know whether it matters what form the sodium takes that
     3        one ingests so far as a healthy diet is concerned?
              A.  It does not.
     4
         Q.   So monosodium glutamate or sodium chloride, which is
     5        ordinary kitchen salt?
              A.  My understanding is that the essential words in both
     6        of those is sodium.
 
     7   Q.  " Eliminated monosodium glutamate from chicken McNuggets
              and some McNugget sauces, and from sausages and several
     8        salad dressings; and made changes in operational
              procedures that reduce the amount of salt applied to
     9        hamburgers at the time of cooking".  Do you happen to know
              when those operational changes were introduced?
    10        A.  My recollection was that those were implemented either
              at or prior to the time these advertisements were
    11        distributed, and in terms of salt being applied the salt,
              instead of being applied to both sides of the hamburger,
    12        was cut in half and applied to only one side.  I also want
              to mention, if I might, in terms of the sausage products,
    13        sodium being reduced there, like pickles, the sausages are
              in a number of McDonald's breakfast products.
    14
         Q.   We will just finish this footnote: "Moreover, McDonald's
    15        customers can order any McDonald's food item without added
              salt or condiments -- a point stressed in the very
    16        advertisement to which you refer".  Without going back to
              it, Mr. Horwitz, in fact the advertisement mentioned only
    17        two of these measures taken to reduce the amount of
              sodium, did it not?
    18        A.  Yes, it did.
 
    19   Q.   It mentioned the availability of no added salt upon
              request and it mentioned a reduction in pickles and
    20        sausages?
              A.  That is correct.
    21
         Q.   Pickles and sausages?
    22        A.  That is correct.
 
    23   Q.   Now can we go on to page 160, that is page 4 of the
              letter?  This is the second specific advertisement
    24        objected to:  "Your objections with respect to the
              contents of a McDonald's milkshake, as described in the
    25        real milk advertisement, are also unfounded.  McDonald's
              stands by its description of the contents. The 
    26        advertisement noted that the milkshakes contain a fluid 
              ounce of flavoring.  The flavorings contain a small amount 
    27        of preservative, sodium benzoate, to protect the syrups
              while they are being transported in their original
    28        containers from the suppliers' manufacturing plants to the
              restaurants.  Sodium hexametaphosphate referred to in your
    29        letter is not a preservative but a stabilizer that
              inhibits the formation of ice crystals in the milkshake."
    30        You will recall, Mr. Horwitz, we saw mention of the
              presence of stabilizers in the advertisement?

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