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McDonald's expresses 'regret' in meaty fries row

Global fast food giant McDonald's expressed its regret on Thursday for a row over the use of meat fat in its French fries that has angered vegetarians around the world and exposed it to legal action.

On its United States website, McDonald's said it apologised if consumers felt they had not been given complete information about the way its chips were cooked.

Giving details of its cooking, it confirmed that a "natural flavouring" added to fries before they were sent to US restaurants was a "beef flavouring."

"Because it is our policy to communicate to customers, we regret if customers felt that the information we provided was not complete enough to meet their needs," the company said.

McDonald's, which has sales of $40 billion a year, said: "If there was confusion, we apologise."

In 1990 McDonald's announced to great fanfare that it was switching the cooking of its fries to vegetable oil for nutritional reasons.

But the issue hit the headlines this month when Hindu lawyer Harish Bharti filed a legal suit in the US accusing McDonald's of "secretly" lacing its French fries with beef fat.

The news sparked demonstrations in India, where the majority Hindus regard the cow as sacred. A slogan-shouting crowd of more than 500 attacked a McDonald's outlet on the outskirts of Bombay, smashing equipment and property, and local food officials pledged to test the fries.

McDonald's was forced to state that in India its fries did not contain any beef.

BEEF EXTRACT USED

As the preparation of food under the group's famous Golden Arches came under scrutiny, McDonald's acted to calm the dispute.

Tucked away on the food facts part of the food section of its corporate website in the US on Thursday, McDonald apologised for the confusion.

In the "McDonald's USA French Fry Facts" section, the group also confirmed the addition of beef extracts to its fries in the United States.

"A small amount of beef flavouring is added during potato processing -- at the plant, " it said. It was during a par-frying process at the plant that the flavouring was used.

"Our French fries are cooked in vegetable oil at our restaurants," it added.

McDonald's stressed that the frying process varied across the world to take account of "cultural or religious dietary considerations."

In most Muslim countries, it said, McDonald's conformed to Halal standards, meaning no beef or pork flavourings in the fries, while in India there were no beef or pork flavourings in vegetarian menu items.

In Britain, where vegetarians are a sizeable minority group, McDonald's issued a statement saying that it cooked its fries only in vegetable oil. A McDonald's UK spokeswoman said it wanted to reassure customers that its fries were indeed vegetarian.

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