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San Francisco’s board of supervisors has voted, by a veto-proof margin, to ban most of McDonald’s Happy Meals as they are now served in the restaurants.
The measure will make San Francisco the first major city in the country to forbid restaurants from offering a free toy with meals that contain more than set levels of calories, sugar and fat. Get the full story »
A dispute between McDonald’s Corp. and the federal government over a new health care reform requirement is giving a peek into the potential complexities that the massive new law will have on companies. Get the full story »
A McDonald's Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap. The chain plans to introduce larger wraps. (McDonald's)
McDonald’s is supersizing its snack wraps. A company spokeswoman confirmed that the chain is testing a variety of larger wraps, with chicken, sauce and a variety of vegetables, in various downtown Chicago locations.
The $4 wraps come with grilled or fried chicken and a variety of flavors: Santa Fe BBQ, Garden Ranch, or Roma Pesta, with tomato pesto and garlic mayonnaise. News of the chicken-wrap test was first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.
McDonald’s president and chief operating officer Don Thompson said that the company was hatching a number of new wraps in July, based on the understanding that consumers are looking for more flavor variety. Get the full story »
Federal consumer safety officials are investigating a complaint that a 4-year-old Connecticut boy nearly strangled himself with a toy from a McDonald’s Happy Meal. Connecticut consumer protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. said Monday that the boy from the New London area put the “Last Airbender Katara” bracelet-like toy around his neck June 30 and began to lose consciousness. He says his mother removed it before any serious harm was done. Get the full story »
Chicago resident Danna Brim visited McDonalds.com and found a $1-off coupon for one real fruit smoothie, the newest beverage offered in the McCafe drink line. The coupon is limited to one person per visit, expires after Aug. 15, and is “valid only at participating U.S. McDonald’s,” according to the company’s Web site. Brim printed her coupon and on Friday morning headed to the McDonald’s at the intersection of Addison and California Avenues. To her dismay, the McDonald’s employee informed her that location would not honor her coupon.
From Bloomberg News | McDonald’s marketing team is studying how minority tastes can influence mainstream preferences as part of an effort to encourage middle-class whites to buy smoothies and snack wraps as avidly as they consume hip-hop and rock ‘n’ roll.
Dylan Maki, 4, of Evanston, plays with his Happy Meal toy outside of the McDonald's at Navy Pier on July 7, 2010. (William DeShazer/Chicago Tribune)
McDonald’s defended its Happy Meals on Wednesday against claims by a consumer advocacy group, with McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner saying that “Happy Meals are a fun treat, with right-sized, quality food choices.”
Skinner’s letter addressing this issue comes a week after the Center for Science in the Public Interest sent a letter to McDonald’s threatening to sue if the company didn’t stop using toys to market Happy Meals to young children.
“By advertising that Happy Meals include toys, McDonald’s unfairly and deceptively markets directly to children,” the letter stated. Get the full story »
Oak Brook-based McDonald’s Corp. signaled the impending demise of the Big N’ Tasty, Mac Snack Wraps and the fruit and walnut salad, among other items. At the same time, McDonald’s is gearing up for a planned national rollout in January of an oatmeal breakfast, currently being test-marketed.
Ronald McDonald slaps first graders hands as they head to lunch at Charles Gates Dawes Elementary School in 2008. Ronald McDonald was at the school to launch of the new Ronald McDonald Care Mobile\, a pediatric mobile health care vehicle. (Chicago Tribune Photo by Heather Stone)
By Julie Wernau
| A coalition of health professionals, parents and corporate
accountability advocates is calling for Ronald McDonald to retire as a spokesman for the nation’s largest restaurant chain, saying he has too much influence on kids.
Corporate Accountability International, which has waged campaigns against bottled water companies and tobacco companies, said it plans to present the results of a survey Wednesday showing that most Americans agree.
The group will release the results at a lunch-time “retirement party” for Oak Brook-based
McDonald’s Chief Happiness Officer, a 50-year veteran of the company, at the McDonald’s restaurant at Chicago Avenue and State Street in Chicago.
