Posted on 02/12/2005 5:54:15 AM PST by SheLion
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 11 (Reuters) - McDonald's has agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle a lawsuit over artery-clogging trans fats in its cooking oils, the company said on Friday.
McDonald's said it will donate $7 million to the American Heart Association and spend another $1.5 million to inform the public of its trans fat plans.
The settlement is the result of litigation from a San Francisco area activist who has been seeking to raise public awareness of the health dangers from the trans fatty acids (TFAs) in hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.
Trans fats are used in thousands of processed food products, often giving the crunch to French fries, cookies, and cereals.
They are created in processing vegetable oils and have been found to be as unhealthy as pure cholesterol. The latest official U.S. nutrition recommendations suggest limiting their intake.
"McDonald's has reached an agreement to further notify our customers about the status of our ongoing initiative to reduce TFAs in our cooking oil," the company said in a statement.
Stephen Joseph, a lawyer who founded BanTransFats.com, sued McDonald's over complaints the firm did not properly inform the public that it had encountered delays in plans to lessen the trans fats in its cooking oils.
Joseph said his site would receive $7,500, as would another plaintiff in the case.
"McDonald's has been successful in reducing TFA levels in our Chicken McNuggets, Crispy Chicken Sandwich and McChicken Sandwich," the fast food firm said. "McDonald's continues to work hard on our initiative to reduce TFAs in our cooking oil."
British-born Joseph first gained publicity for his cause by suing Kraft Foods two years ago to highlight the trans fat content of much-beloved Oreo cookies. The company has since moved to remove trans fats from its snack foods.
"While there is a difference of opinion regarding whether McDonald's gave effective notice to its customers that the oil was not changed, McDonald's deserves recognition and credit for having achieved a reduction in the trans fat levels in its chicken products and for working diligently over the last two years to test additional cooking oils," Joseph said in a statement.
Dunkin' Donuts, a unit of Britain's Allied Domecq Plc , and other companies have in recent months introduced new products free of trans fats.
Beyond that, the FDA does not consider cotton to be a food. Therefore, it can be sprayed with any kind of pesticide around.
So now we change the concern from trans-fats to chemo?
Isn't it funny how the libs are reluctant to go after Big Booze?
No we are concerned about the use of cotton oil in foods since it is not considered a food by the FDA.
"Document Not Found" (your link)Har.
"Server temporarily overloaded by hits from Freepers and lurkers ..."
HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Trans fat is not a poison but, like almost anything else, too much of it does have adverse health consequences.Well, hell, practically EVEYTHING is covered by this clause!
Gee thanks, thousands are at risk of heart disease and the companies are worried there's a stain on the shelf from a cracker.Make that "customers complain about the oily texture and the stain it leaves on the shelf".
Personally, I don't buy that many Oreos any more, nor did I ever enjoy French Fries to begin with.
What's the alternative - this (the little-known down side of munching veggies)?
While I was at TMI I supervised a mobile whole body counter (device used to measure the body burden in radiation workers.)(K-40 is Potassium-40)My technicians and I got a game going to see how accurately we could pick out the high vegie consumption/vegetarian workers from their K-40 peak.
We got to where we could hit it almost 100% of the time.
This was back before everyone began wearing their feelings on their shoulders and you could ask casual personal questions without being beaten over the head with lawyers. In some cases we would see K-40 peaks half again as large in vegetarians. Somehow I always got some perverse pleasure in knowing the health food nuts/vegetarians were (relatively speaking) nuking themselves.
And they market this garbage to young children whose only criteria for picking food is that it"tastes good".
I know most of our fellow conservatives on this board seem to take glee in justifying self destructive acts like smoking,fast food eating etc just to stick their tongues out at the PC health nuts.I understand the immediate gratification these in your face actions can have but as someone who woke up late in life I sure wish I had left alot of that garbage out of my life.
I don't know about all of you,but I AM one of the "3%", who DOES notice a difference in the taste of Mcdonalds fries, since they changed the oil used in them. Most of the "magic" taste, that made me desire them in the past, is nowe gone, replace with a definite aftertaste, that was NOT there before.
AND, for those who say, " well, it's good, that they are doing this, we don't need all of that trans-fat", you are following right along where they you want to. Trans-fat today, ALL fast food tomorrow, and then, ALL maet and dairy products. DON'T think, "it will never happen... 20 years ago, who would have thought, people could get told not to smoke , OUTSIDE, near a building, or in their OWN, cars, if someone else was in them(and no I do NOT mean the "inconsiderate" types, who will, not put down a window, so us non-smokers can breathe),and so on. They will just say"it's for the children",or "it's for your own good," and most of the sheeple will just fall right in place.
SO, if you think" no big deal", better watch your back. NEXT TME, it will be something you like, and NO NE will com to your aid, to defend your rights.. (which won't be very many, anyhow).
Ordering a big Mac at McDonald's
http://www.aclu.org/pizza/images/screen.swf
People just don't get it.
REAL ID BILL PASSES (Sensenbrenner's illegal alien bill passes, will be attached to Iraq bill)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1340612/posts
NYC:New York Hits Online Sellers of Cigarettes
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1341931/posts
I know what you mean. Part of the problem is that people don't know how to cook any more. So they choose the stuff on the shelves that has had all of the nutrition stripped out of them and then a few more added back in. If people would learn how to cook from scratch then they could have better tasting food ready in about the same time and save a whole lot of money to boot.
For me it was for health reasons that I made the changes. I personally say vote with your feet and let the chips fall where they may.
oh look, the thought police are here.
You "know most of our fellow conservatives on this board seem to take glee in justifying self destructive acts like smoking,fast food eating etc just to stick their tongues out at the PC health nuts" ???
really? you know that?
LOL
how old are you? 13?
i'll tell you what this convervative thinks of the likes of you who shows NO respect for the Constitiution and the rights to individuals and property owners stated therin. i think you are a whiney little cry baby who chose to do stupid things so now you want a wet-nurse Government to protect you from your own idiot behavior. you show me in the Constitution where it says our Gvt has the right to infringe on law-abiding individuals and property owners for the benefit of those too stupid to know better or who perhaps just don't care.
your same snotty remarks are the ones used by the PC crowd to try and pass more anti-gun laws - which happen to INFRINGE on my 2nd amendment. do you get as uppity about that too? does it bother you that people in this country still insist on their right to keep and bear arms even though the PC crowd think guns are "destuctive" and EVEN "self-destuctive"? you are a tool for the left and you repeat their garbage.
oh look, the thought police are here.And every board needs a reactionary ...
Welcome!
sorry, you are being way too subtle for this country hick, could you explain what you are trying to say to me with plain talk?
thanks
If ban all beef we can avoid getting the human version of "mad cow disease".
Plus cows fart a lot and contribute to gloabal warming, so we need to cut down their numbers to keep the oceans from rising.
McD's was caught lying to customers. They said (I'm not sure if it was on a poster, on tray liners or somewhere else) "We're going to do X." Then they didn't do it, but didn't admit not doing it. Pretty simple. Unless you take the position "Businesses lie. They do it a lot. But, you can't hold them accountable. Especially not by hiring any of those, gasp, lawyers, and getting it put in front of a jury. That'd be outrageous. Almost UnAmerican.
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