Day 012 - 18 Jul 94 - Page 39
1 advertisement lists four products (regular fries, regular
cheeseburger, 6-piece McNuggets, and vanilla milkshake),
2 none of which have had their sodium content lowered in the
past year.
3
2. The advertisement touting the 'real' milk in
4 McDonald's shakes says that they contain 'Wholesome milk,
natural sweeteners, a fluid ounce of flavouring, and
5 stabilizers for consistency. And that's all.' In fact,
that is not really all. McDonald's own ingredient booklet
6 shows that a typical shake, such as vanilla or strawberry,
actually contains artificial flavor and sodium benzoate
7 and sodium hexametaphosphate, two chemical preservatives.
This advertisement tells only part of the story.
8
3. The cholesterol advertisement emphasizes the
9 relatively low (29 milligrams) cholesterol content of the
regular hamburger, but does not even mention the saturated
10 fat content, a fact much more relevant to those with cause
for concern about heart disease.
11
In order to prevent further action by our three offices,
12 we require that McDonald's discontinue this advertising
campaign and cease and desist from future advertising
13 which falsely or deceptively portrays McDonald's food as
healthful or wholesome".
14
The only question I have about that (and we will look at
15 the response from Dewey Ballantine in a moment) is this:
Did McDonald's discontinue this advertising campaign?
16 A. It did not.
17 Q. Then we need to go on, please, to where I formerly was at
152, which is Dewey Ballantine's response to Mr. Abrams,
18 signed on this occasion by Mr. Rosberg, as we see from
156. But we see that Mr. Califano is first on the list of
19 partners in Dewey Ballantine at the top left-hand side?
A. That is correct.
20
Q. It is dated 4th May 1987: "Dear Mr. Attorney General,
21
We are writing on behalf of McDonald's Corporation, whom
22 we represent, in response to your letter of April 24,
1987, to Edward Rensi ...
23
For more than a year McDonald's has worked effectively
24 with your office in pursuit of a shared objective: To
ensure that consumers have access to the facts they need
25 to make informed choices about their food purchases. In
cooperation with your office, McDonald's launched an
26 innovative program to put complete nutrition and
ingredient information in every one of its restaurants in
27 New York State. The experience gained from that pilot
program played an important part in McDonald's decision to
28 extend the program nationwide. Throughout this period,
the lines of communication were open, and there appeared
29 to be a good working relationship between your office and
McDonald's.
30
Against this background, we were surprised and
