Thread: McDonald's Menu to Go on Diet in 2005

By DAVE CARPENTER AP Business Writer


CHICAGO (AP) - Say goodbye to those super-sized fries - McDonald's is slimming down its menu. The hamburger giant has started phasing out its trademark Supersize fries and drinks in its U.S. restaurants as part of an effort to simplify its menu and give customers choices that support a balanced lifestyle, a company spokesman said Tuesday.

By the end of 2004, super size will no longer be available at the nation's 13,000-plus McDonald's outlets except in certain promotions, McDonald's spokesman Walt Riker said.

The move comes as the world's largest restaurant company, and fast-food chains in general, are under growing public pressure to give consumers healthier food options in a nation that has suddenly become aware of its bulging waistline and the health dangers that come with it.

McDonald's added entree salads last year and has been moving to provide more fruit, vegetable and yogurt options with its Happy Meals. But the Oak Brook, Ill.-based company remains a magnet for public concerns - and legal actions - when it comes to obesity.

Riker said the changes started going into effect in January.

``This core menu, which has been under development since 2002, simplifies our menu and restaurant operations and provides a balance of choices for our customers,'' he said. ``A component of this overall simplification, menu and balanced lifestyle strategy is the ongoing phase-out of the Supersize fry and the Supersize drink options.''

The company did not immediately disclose other details of the menu changes.

Two lawsuits claiming McDonald's hid the health risks of eating Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets were thrown out in federal court in New York last year.

But the issue hasn't disappeared.

An award-winning documentary called ``Super Size Me'' has heaped on more unwanted publicity for McDonald's. The documentary, which chronicles the deterioration of filmmaker Morgan Spurlock's health during a monthlong experiment eating nothing but McDonald's food, won a directing prize at the Sundance Film Festival and is set for wide release this spring.

Riker said the phasing out of super-sizing has ``nothing to do with that (film) whatsoever.''

The company earlier issued a statement calling the documentary ``a super-sized distortion of the quality, choice and variety available at McDonald's.'' It says the film is not about McDonald's but about Spurlock's decision to act irresponsibly by eating 5,000 calories a day - ``a gimmick to make a film.''

yep...it would be one thing if they never started the super sizing craze but i don't think taking it away from people is going to go over all that well. it sounds responsible but it's too little too late.

operater: would you like fries with your order?

customer: 2 please