McDonald's lied about ingredients in french fries

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McDonald's lied about ingredients in french fries

Previously posted to SoFlaVegans list

 

 

French fries from McDonald's caused an autistic boy's tantrums,

according to the lawsuit.

Suit: McDonald's lied about ingredients in french fries that are

harmful to autistic children

By Lisa Sweetingham

Court TV

Oct. 12, 2006

 

http://www.courttv.com/news/2006/1011/mcdonalds_ctv.html

http://www.courttv.com/news/2006/1011/mcdonalds_ctv.html?print=yes & page=

 

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LOS ANGELES - McDonald's french fries caused an autistic child to

suffer from tantrums and digestive problems, according to a lawsuit

filed by the boy's guardian in Los Angeles Friday.

 

After eating french fries at a McDonald's in Valencia, Calif.,

according to the suit, Roman Brown experienced increased aggression

and tantrums, while his ability to communicate and take care of

himself diminished.

 

The culprits, according to the suit, were gluten and casein -

ingredients found in milk and wheat products - and which some parents

of autistic children believe can exacerbate the condition.

 

Earlier this year, McDonald's acknowledged that its hash browns and

french fries, which the restaurant chain historically had reported as

allergen-free, in fact may contain wheat and milk ingredients from

the oil they are cooked in.

 

The complaint alleges fraud, false advertising and negligent

misrepresentation by McDonald's Corp. and McDonald's Restaurants of

California and seeks $15,000 for Roman Brown's medical expenses,

along with a share of profits made by the company for the alleged

misrepresentation and unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

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The plaintiffs also are asking for certification of the lawsuit as a

class-action on behalf of other autistic children who they allege may

have been similarly harmed.

 

" In most cases, elimination of gluten and casein from an autistic

child's [diet] results in dramatic improvements in the child's

condition, often enabling the child to attend mainstream educational

programs in a matter of months,'' the suit states.

 

The complaint was filed in L.A. Superior Court by Richard Brown, who

was identified as the boy's guardian. The court papers do not state

the relationship between the guardian and the child, nor specify the

child's age.

 

Brown's lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.

 

" We care very much about our customers, and we take these allegations

seriously, " said Lisa Howard, a spokeswoman for McDonald's. " However,

as we haven't seen this lawsuit, it would be inappropriate for us to

comment further at this time. "

 

In February, McDonald's announced that frying oil used to prepare

french fries and hash browns included a natural flavoring that

contained hydrolyzed milk and hydrolyzed wheat, and could no longer

be considered allergen-free for those with milk or wheat allergies.

 

Some parents of children with special dietary needs were rankled by

the news that a treat they had once allowed was in fact tainted by

the very ingredients they had so vigilantly been avoiding.

 

Brown's complaint joins suits that sprung up earlier this year

against the burger chain, many from parents who say their children

are allergic to wheat or dairy products.

 

" The real issue here is that McDonald's put these items on a list of

gluten-free menu items, " says Florida attorney Brian Smith, who

currently represents about 50 individuals, mostly children, who

suffer from milk allergies, celiac disease and autism.

 

Smith says some of his clients received literature from McDonald's,

before the February announcement, touting its gluten-free items.

 

Sufferers of celiac disease must abstain from eating any wheat,

barley, rye or oats. The Celiac Sprue Association released a memo

that appears on McDonald's corporate Web site, announcing that it had

examined the commercial manufacturing process of the natural

flavoring in McDonald's fries and found detectable levels of gluten

in the wheat ingredient.

 

But the autism-gluten connection, according to some medical experts,

is a popular theory that lacks strong scientific underpinnings.

 

" No scientific research has consistently shown a connection, " says

Dr. Ami Klin, one of the country's leading autism experts and an

associate professor at Yale University's School of Medicine. " It's a

popular hypothesis, and something that is circulated among a group of

individuals that have a grip on parents as to the importance of those

things. But the reviews of that subject have not turned up any solid

evidence. "

 

The Browns did not find out about the gluten and casein contents in

McDonald's french fries until Feb. 13, when the company admitted

using both for flavoring, their lawsuit alleges.

 

McDonald's said the move came in response to new rules by the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration for the packaged foods industry,

including one requiring that the presence of common allergens such as

milk, eggs, wheat, fish or peanuts be reported. The FDA cannot

mandate that restaurants also provide the information, but the Oak

Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's is doing so voluntarily.

 

The company paid $10 million in 2002, according to AP reports, to

settle a lawsuit by vegetarian groups after it was disclosed that its

fries were cooked in beef-flavored oil despite the company's

insistence in 1990 that it was abandoning beef tallow for pure

vegetable oil.