McDonald's to pay millions in trans fat lawsuit

Fast food giant McDonald’s will pay around €6.8m to settle a lawsuit accusing the company of failing to inform consumers of delays in a plan to reduce fat in the cooking oil used for its popular French fries and other foods.

BanTransFats.com, a non-profit advocacy group, sued McDonald’s in California state court in 2003, claiming the company did not effectively disclose to the public that it had not switched to a healthier cooking oil.

In September 2002, McDonald’s announced it would lower trans fat in its cooking oils and said the switch would be completed in five months. In February 2003, McDonald’s announced a delay. The lawsuit accused the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company of failing to adequately inform consumers of that delay.

The agreement announced on Wednesday requires McDonald’s to pay €5.5m to the American Heart Association to use the proceeds to educate the public about trans fats in foods.

Heart-clogging trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil – a process called hydrogenation.

The settlement also requires McDonald’s to spend around €1.2m publicising that it had not followed through on its 2002 pledge.

Additionally, the company will pay €6,000 to BanTransFats.com and to Katherine Fettke, who had filed a separate complaint against McDonald’s and had also agreed to settle.

McDonald’s had reduced the amount of trans fat in its Chicken McNuggets, Crispy Chicken and McChicken sandwiches, said spokesman Walt Riker.

He said the company was working to reduce trans fat in its other fried foods.

“We’re continuing to test. We want to make sure we get it right for our customers,” he said.