McDonald'sTo Pay US$10 Million In French Fry Settlement 'misled Hindu and vegetarian'

[krsna]

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200505221465.htm

 

CALIFORNIA, May 22, 2005: Fast food giant McDonald's will pay US$10

million to 24 groups as part of a settlement of lawsuits charging that

it had misled Hindu and vegetarian consumers by "wrongly describing"

its French fries, containing beef additive for flavouring, as

vegetarian. The 24 groups were approved by a US court, after a Seattle

Lawyer Harish Bharti, filed a class-action lawsuit against the company,

accusing the chain of deception in its claims of cooking fries in 100

per cent vegetable oil. The maximum compensation of $1.4 million, or 14

per cent of the award, was for Vegetarian Resource Group, followed by

$1 million for North American Vegetarian Society. Other groups include

Muslim Consumer Group for Food Products ($100,000), International

American Gita Society ($50,000), Hindu Heritage Endowment ($250,000),

Council of Hindu Temples of North America ($200,000), Guru Harkrishan

Institute of Sikh Studies ($50,000), Hindu Students Council ($500,000),

Jewish Community Centres Association ($200,000) and Tufts University

($850,000). The funds are intended to provide education and research

into a healthy vegetarian diet as well as religious dietary laws and

restrictions. Muslim and Jewish groups were included because the

undisclosed beef additive was neither halal or kosher.