Maccas' tick of approval

Reporter: Helen Wellings
Broadcast Date: February 06, 2007

In an incredible turnaround, McDonalds has been given the Heart Foundation's tick of approval for some menu items. Helen Wellings investigates.

Every day, a million Australians eat McDonalds. But since the day the "golden arches" opened its doors, it has long been pilloried as the king of junk food.

It has even inspired documentaries such as "Supersize Me", showing just how much weight one person can gain by eating McDonalds alone.

"This is a world first where McDonalds have actually modified their recipes, changed their procedures, to meet the Heart Foundation's strict heart standards," the Heart Foundation's Suzanne Anderson said.

McDonalds has long been pilloried as the king of junk food, with meals high in fat, kilojoules and salt.

Three years ago, amid debate on childhood obseity levels, McDonalds introduced a range of healthier menu options.

But today, it went a step further: the Heart Foundation announced the fast food giant had earned its distinctive red tick of approval on nine of its meals.

Critics claim the endorsement has been paid for, to boost Macca's image and revenue, but the Heart Foundation begs to differ.

"You have to earn the tick," Ms Anderson said.

"Every licensee, every food company who uses the tick, must meet our strict nutrition standards. There is no exception to that."

Ms Anderson said earning the tick had forced Maccas to radically overhaul some of the ingredients used. The salt in its bread rolls had to be reduced more than 40 per cent, saturated fat had to be less than 2 per cent.

Instead of the usual fries and Coke combination, the approved meals come with healthy salad, yoghurt, orange juice, even water.

Chief of the Australian Society for the Study for Obesity, Tim Gill, said despite the tick, McDonalds' core food - burgers, fries, coke and kids' McHappy meals - still made up the bulk of the company's turnover.

The nine McDonalds meals awarded the red tick - accompanied by salads with dressing and orange juice or water - included a standard hamburger, lean beef burger, McChicken burger, Filet-o-Fish, Herb Fusion chicken salad with berry yoghurt, two nugget meals with sweet and sour sauce and OJ, two Deli Choice rolls, Chicken Tandoori with yoghurt and OJ, and Thai Chicken with apple and water.

"We've got inspectors out there every week, testing these products to make sure they always meet our guidelines," Ms Anderson said.

According to the Heart Foundation, if just 10 per cent of McDonalds customers switched to these, a collective 294 tonnes of saturated fat would be removed from our nation's diet.

But not everyone sees it that way.

Weight loss expert Matt O'Neil of Smartshape said the Maccas health tick endorsement could be seen as a licence to eat more.