Posted by kathryn in Junk Food

I blogged yesterday about the announcement that nine McDonald’s meals have been given Heart Foundation Ticks. A follow up story in today’s Herald gives reactions from the AMA and Westmead Children’s Hospital.

The AMA are concerned the:

respected red tick, which indicates to consumers a healthy, low kilojoule, well-balanced meal, had been “hamburgled” by McDonald’s, and could create a “halo” effect around a small number of more healthy meals on an extensive menu high in fats, salt and sugar.

While Dr Louise Bauer from Westmead noted:

“We know that when McDonald’s started selling its [Lighter Choices] a while back, the sales of burgers and fries went up,” she said. “More people felt comfortable going there, but they weren’t necessarily ordering the healthier alternatives once they got to the counter.”

Let’s be clear about this, the Heart Foundation Tick applies to nine meals only , it does not apply to the whole McDonald’s menu. Unlike the Herald’s opening paragraph, the Heart Foundation has not given “McDonald’s a nutritional tick of approval”.

It has accredited nine meal combinations, which have to be eaten exactly as specified to fit within the Tick guidelines. No substitutions, no changing the drink to a coke, or the sauce to barbecue, or the salad to fries.

The big question mark over this initiative is whether people will actually choose the Tick meals. Will the people who eat at McDonald’s choose a burger with salad and juice, as opposed to fries and a thickshake. This is dependant on a number of things, including the advertising and costing. If the meals are a lot more expensive or are not effectively signposted as the Tick meals, then things may go awry.

07 February, 2007