Memorandum by McDonald's Restaurants Limited
(OB 52)
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 McDonald's Restaurants Limited welcomes
the opportunity to contribute to the House of Commons Health Select
Committee's Inquiry into Obesity. We are proud of the food that
we serve at our restaurants and we aim to be the UK's best quick
service restaurant experience. We are committed to serving hot,
fresh, great tasting, good value food to all our customers every
time they visit one of our restaurants.
1.2 McDonald's takes the issue of a healthy,
balanced lifestyle extremely seriously. As part of our commitment
to the highest possible standards of responsible behaviour, we
continually strive to improve our food and drink for the enjoyment
and welfare of our customers.
1.3 We believe we can contribute to public
health in three important ways:
— Improving menu choice to meet our
customers changing tastes;
— Providing improved customer information;
— Advocating and promoting healthy
lifestyles.
1.4 In the pages that follow, we provide
further details about what we have done in each of these three
important areas and what we currently have planned.
2. ABOUT MCDONALD'S
RESTAURANTS LIMITED
2.1 McDonald's opened its first restaurant
in the UK in October 1974. By the end of 2002, there were 1,231
McDonald's restaurants in the UK, representing a total investment
in property and equipment of over £1.6 billion. The Company
employed just under 48,000 people and over 25,000 more were employed
by McDonald's franchisees. Last year, we generated sales in excess
of £1.6 billion, and we serve food and drinks to around three
million people in the UK every day.
3. OBESITY AND
THE FOOD
INDUSTRY
3.1 Health experts, including the World
Health Organisation, emphasise that obesity is a very complex
issue fuelled by many factors, not just food consumption. Other
major factors identified include:
— today's increasingly sedentary lifestyles;
— increased use of computers, television
and video games;
— decreased physical education programmes
and recess time in schools.
3.2 What people eat is, however, of central
importance to the obesity debate, and it is important to assess
an individual's whole diet and lifestyle in considering the part
any particular food can play within a healthy, balanced diet.
3.3 McDonald's food consists of high quality
ingredients that can make up a part of a well-balanced, varied
diet. Our menu is made up of beef, pork, poultry, fish, bread,
vegetables and dairy products, all of which are produced to the
highest standards of quality and safety. People trust the food
we serve to be safe and of high quality.
3.4 McDonald's takes its responsibilities
towards its customers very seriously. It is our aim to provide
the variety and choice that allow our customers to make an important
and informed choice about individual meals in relation to their
whole diet. At the end of the day, it is up to individuals to
decide what they and their families will eat.
4. IMPROVING
MENU CHOICE
TO MEET
OUR CUSTOMERS
CHANGING TASTES
4.1 The McDonald's menu offers a choice
of food and drink made from basic ingredients including red and
white meat, fish, eggs, milk, grain and vegetables, all of which
are produced to the highest standards of quality and safety. That
choice includes mineral water, promotional salads, non-meat meals,
fruit, diet drinks, semi-skimmed milk and fruit juice.
4.2 We are constantly looking at ways to
improve the nutritional value of our food and drink, provided
that taste is not compromised. Just 15 years ago, we did not have
the choice of chicken, fish, mineral water, non-meat meals, diet
drinks, semi-skimmed milk, organic milk and fruit that we have
now.
4.3 In recent years, we have made a number
of changes to our menu for nutritional reasons:
— Lard has been replaced in buns with
a smaller quantity of vegetable oil.
— Mineral water, pure orange juice,
diet coke and cartons of organic semi-skimmed milk, are available
in all restaurants.
— A low calorie sweetener is available
as an alternative to sugar.
— The formulation of sauces has been
improved to reduce oil levels. Cooking oil has been changed to
reduce the saturated and trans-fatty acid content.
— Free range eggs are used in all our
breakfast offers.
4.4 This has continued with further innovations
this year including:
— Replacing all our cartons of non-organic
semi-skimmed milk with organic semi-skimmed milk.
— In April 2003, we introduced fruit
bags as a Happy Meal option. The 80g Happy Meal Fruit Bag is equivalent
to one of the Department of Health's five-a-day recommended daily
intake of fruit and vegetables. The fresh fruit can be substituted
for fries in a Happy Meal or bought separately for 59p per portion.
The initiative has been backed by a significant marketing campaign
including prime-time television advertising.
— The other new choices within the
Happy Meals range are Robinson's Fruit Shoot (a high juice, no
added sugar drink) and Chicken Selects that are made from chicken
breast meat.
— Also from April 2003 we rolled out
our New Tastes Menu which includes the Pasta and Chicken Salad
that contains only 266 calories and less than 5% fat. Although
the New Tastes Menu will change from time to time, it is intended
always to include a food offering with less than 5% fat.
4.5 These changes stem from the dialogue
we have with our customers and ensure that McDonald's continues
to provide them with what they want—more choice and variety
to suit evolving tastes and preferences.
5. PROVIDING
IMPROVED CUSTOMER
INFORMATION
5.1 Nutritional issues are increasingly
important to people, largely because the link between a balanced
diet and good health has never been more strongly understood.
5.2 In 1984, we were the first UK quick
service restaurant company to publish nutritional information
about our food and drink, believing that customers wanted to make
informed choices about individual meals in relation to their whole
diet. The McDonald's UK website (www.mcdonalds.co.uk) features
this nutritional information as well as an interactive menu planner.
Nutritional leaflets are also available in all our stores.
5.3 We will of course continue to look at
ways to improve the way we communicate such information to our
customers, both in terms of the information they require and the
form in which it is presented.
6. WHAT MCDONALD'S
IS DOING
TO ADVOCATE
AND PROMOTE
HEALTHY LIFESTYLES
6.1 McDonald's fully endorses a healthy,
balanced lifestyle for customers. The essence of a healthy lifestyle
is a good diet based upon balance, variety, moderation and physical
activity. As part of our commitment to the highest possible standards
of responsible behaviour, we continually strive to improve our
food and drink for the enjoyment and welfare of our customers.
6.2 At a global level, we recently announced
the creation of the McDonald's Advisory Council on Healthy Lifestyles
comprised of independent, recognized experts in relevant fields
from around the world. These 10 experts will cover a wide range
of disciplines including nutrition, fitness, lifestyle and children's
well being.
6.3 Along the same lines as our Animal Welfare
Council and International Scientific Advisory Council on beef
safety, the Council will provide input and recommendations for
how best to implement our Healthy Lifestyles initiatives at a
country level. These initiatives will look to educate children
and families on issues of health and well-being, ranging from
physical fitness and activity to nutrition and personal safety.
7. CHAMPIONING
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
7.1 McDonald's understands that the essence
of a healthy, balanced lifestyle is based not only on a balanced
diet, but also on regular physical activity.
7.2 Our championing of physical activity
goes far beyond branding opportunities. We are committed to a
long-term programme to advocate and support the development of
healthier lifestyles:
— Since 1995, the Company has invested
more than £10 million in community football.
— McDonald's has partnerships with
more than 30 professional football clubs in England and Scotland.
These partnerships include grassroots and community initiatives.
— Through our restaurants we also have
more than 500 local partnerships with school and youth teams and
sponsored junior leagues.
— Last year, we appointed Sir Geoff
Hurst MBE and Manchester United coach Eric Harrison to head up
our grass roots football programme.
7.3 We are increasing our support of physical
activity initiatives, especially involving young people, through
our new football community partnerships with each of the four
national football associations. These are major programmes designed
to encourage participation in grass roots football and skill development.
By 2006, an additional 10,000 people will have been trained and
received a coaching qualification from their national football
association. They, in turn, will be able to motivate and train
people in schools and clubs across the country. This is intended
to represent an additional 1.3 million hours of coaching to more
than 250,000 people over four years.
8. MCDONALD'S
WORKING IN
PARTNERSHIP
8.1 McDonald's believes that the issue of
obesity can only be addressed through effective partnerships.
This approach is at the heart of McDonald's activity around the
world on advocating and promoting healthy lifestyles.
8.2 We are contributing to the current World
Health Organisation consultation for the preparation of the WHO
guidance paper on "Diet, Nutrition and prevention of Chronic
Diseases".
8.3 McDonald's in Europe is establishing
an industry-leading Agricultural Assurance Programme implementing
the highest standards of quality safety and traceability throughout
the food supply chain from farm to customer.
8.4 In the UK, McDonald's has a desire to
develop our relationship with regulators like the Food Standards
Agency on nutritional matters and is in dialogue with the Food
Tsar and other Food Champions appointed by the Scottish Executive.
8.5 We are also building relationships with
relevant Government departments and officials to ensure that we
establish lines of communication on nutritional and physical activity
issues and to ensure that there is an awareness of McDonald's
developments in this area.
9. CONCLUSIONS
9.1 McDonald's is always looking for further
opportunities to improve our menu offering, customer information
and promotion of a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
9.2 McDonald's is talking to decision makers
to ensure that we play an appropriate role in the healthy lifestyle
programmes proposed.
9.3 McDonald's helps to provide access to
high-quality football coaching and encourages young people to
participate in physical activity.
9.4 McDonald's can play a valuable role
in the awareness and understanding of the importance of a healthy,
balanced lifestyle amongst our customers through continued improvement
of menu choice to meet customers changing tastes, the provision
of improved nutritional information and the promotion of healthy
lifestyles.
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