Mcdonald's French Fries Not Safe?

[jkmunchkin]

  celiac3270 said:

The ketchup's fine if that's what you mean. Whoopee! I can go to McD's and have ketchup packets and salt! And if I really want to go all out, I can try the pepper or the honey, also gluten-free.

ROTFLMAO!!!

[Judyin Philly]

  VydorScope said:

I dunno what they did to the tomatoes, nor am I sure waht your refering to? LOL

On my list today the TOMATOES ARE GONE.

aRE THEY ON YOUR LIST?

jUDY

[celiac3270]

Tomatoes are on their gluten-free list, I think. Speaking of which, I discovered a whole slew of gluten-free condiments. You guys might want to check them out if you're interested in eating a meal there again

[pixiegirl]

Wow and to think I started this firestorm! If you take the ketchup and salt and mix it with their gluten-free water you can call it tomato soup.

One thing that always bugs me... I'm on a variety of lists, but its when people say, its ONLY french fries or that we need to "get a life" because I'm very involved in a topic. If they don't like all the posts about french fries why don't they just skip this topic? Its obvious that some people need to talk about it, maybe its the way that they let out their anger or frustration, but they wouldn't be doing it if it didn't work for them. It just really bugs me when people insinuate that I'm posting too much or too often about a topic, thank you but I'll make this decision about MY posting without you and unless you are a list owner, I'm not interested. Sheesh (ok I vented).

The bottom line for me is that McDonalds now lists their fries as containing gluten, so that's it for me.

I fall into that group where McDonalds was my fall back, I travel every single month, usually multiple times per month, all over the country and McDonalds was a place I could eat at, virtually in any airport or any small city in the US. If I couldn't find a place that could do gluten-free I could always eat at McDonalds. So I really feel the loss.

Oh well.... onward and upward....

susan

[Judyin Philly]

  celiac3270 said:

Tomatoes are on their gluten-free list, I think. Speaking of which, I discovered a whole slew of gluten-free condiments. You guys might want to check them out if you're interested in eating a meal there again

Hi celiac3270

Maybe mine didn't print the tomatoes..thanks

you know my son, who spent his jr year of college in Italy, got very creative with the mayo, ketchup, salt and pepper and relish packets...kept him alive..guess hot water and some ketchup can make great soup when your broke..

Judy

[mommida]

WOW! Didn't look at this post because Mc D ff make me sick!!

Any posters that have said that here have been BLASTED with the gluten-free list. So I think any supersensitve people have considered it cross contamination.

We are not just Mc Freakin over french fries, we are trying to figure out what this oversight means for the bigger picture. We have to figure what is safe and how do we learn to trust companies all over again. McDonald's has been caught for the trans fat information being inaccurate.

Does par frying make the protein structure completely unidentifiable to our immune systems? Some Celiacs react to the similar protein chains to gluten and casein.

Clearly, we need answers to our questions.

Richard,

My heart goes out to you and your family. My thoughts and prayers are with you at this time of your grief.

Laura

[NaomiR]

I was outraged when I heard about this on Tuesday! My oldest son has allergies to multiple foods and McD's was one of the safer fast food places he can eat when running errands. My youngest son, age 3, has Celiac's. He would always munch on a handful of fries....

I have been searching several different sites and this is what I have found out.

The following contains wheat:

McDonalds:

French Fries

BBQ sauce

Sweet & Sour sauce

Bacon bits

Bacon

Hashbrowns **It was mentioned in another post that the hashbrowns are still safe but there are two listings on their site for hashbrowns. One lists wheat and the other doesn't.

Burger King:

BBQ sauce

Sweet & Sour sauce

Ranch salad dressing

Pancake syrup

KFC:

Green beans

******I did not list the obvious ones: buns, breaded items, croutons, and such.

[SallyC]

After reading all the posts, I called Mcdonald's and asked what was going on. In compliance with the new food and drug laws they have changed their labeling. It is not the fries that have the wheat, but the oil used to fry them could originally have contained wheat but through processing should have been eliminated. Actually nothing about McDonald's fries has changed. There is a contact number on their website if you would like it explained better. As for me, I will continue to eat them.

[VydorScope]

  SallyC said:

After reading all the posts, I called Mcdonald's and asked what was going on. In compliance with the new food and drug laws they have changed their labeling. It is not the fries that have the wheat, but the oil used to fry them could originally have contained wheat but through processing should have been eliminated. Actually nothing about McDonald's fries has changed. There is a contact number on their website if you would like it explained better. As for me, I will continue to eat them.

No offense, but if you read all the posts, you did not read very carefully this has bbe covered at least a milllion times in this thread alone.

You may eat the freis as you wish, but I would highly advise against it, as I have long before they finaly admited there was gluten in the.

[SallyC]

  VydorScope said:

No offense, but if you read all the posts, you did not read very carefully this has bbe covered at least a milllion times in this thread alone.

You may eat the freis as you wish, but I would highly advise against it, as I have long before they finaly admited there was gluten in the.

Sorry, I am new at this forum. If there is any doubt at all as to whether something contains gluten or not I won't take a chance on eating them.

[VydorScope]

  SallyC said:

Sorry, I am new at this forum. If there is any doubt at all as to whether something contains gluten or not I won't take a chance on eating them.

Their web site speifcily states theirs gluten in thier natural flavors. How ever if you call they calim that some magic procedure they have in processing that they refuse to explain will some how magicly make the fries gluten free, but they will not put it in writing nor will they test thier products to see if they are gluten-free.

Some ppl have made the decsion to eat the fires since htey have not had a problem with them, others like me refuse to eat anything that is KNOWN to have gluten in it, exply since my son does have a reaction to them indicating they do have gluten in them.

Its a personal descion.

Its okay to question, I just think everyone needs to know the whole story before makeing any decsion on this.

[Firegirl43]

[dpath]

Folks: Here's what I learned from McDonald's and filed as a story to the Dow Jones newswires earlier today. It may be picked up in the online Wall Street Journal and possibly the print edition as well.

Best, David Hamilton

=WSJ: McDonald's: Fries Contain 'Wheat, Milk Ingredients'

Dow Jones News Service via Dow Jones

By David P. Hamilton

Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--McDonald's Corp. (MCD) said for the first time that

its french fries contain "wheat and milk ingredients" that might cause problems

for diners sensitive to these substances.

McDonald's had previously described its fries as free of substances that can

cause allergic or other medical reactions in sensitive people. The Oak Brook,

Ill., fast-food giant said the change in its ingredient disclosures followed its

decision to conform to new federal food-labeling rules, and does not reflect any

change in the ingredients of its fries or the way they are prepared.

Some people with food-sensitivity conditions found the change alarming,

largely because they had previously considered McDonald's fries safe based on

information supplied by the company. For instance, some individuals with celiac

disease - an autoimmune condition triggered by gluten, a protein found in wheat,

rye and barley - worried in an online forum whether the McDonald's fries had

always contained gluten, despite the company's assertions to the contrary.

(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall

Street Journal Web site, WSJ.com.)

Cathy Kapica, McDonald's director of global nutrition, said the company's

fries include a "natural flavoring" made, in part, from extracts of wheat and

dairy products. Kapica said those extracts are processed in ways designed to

remove wheat and dairy proteins, which are the substances generally responsible

for triggering allergies or food-sensitivity problems.

Until earlier this week, McDonald's described the natural flavoring as safe

for people with food allergies and other dietary sensitivities. On its Web site,

McDonald's listed the fries on a page of menu items "for people with gluten

sensitivity." On an "allergies and sensitivities" page, the fries were described

as free of gluten and milk or wheat "allergens."

More recently, however, McDonald's voluntarily decided to bring its

nutritional information into voluntary compliance with new Food and Drug

Administration food-labeling rules that took effect on Jan. 1. Those

regulations, which apply to packaged foods but not to restaurant meals, require

labels to note the presence of common allergens such as milk, eggs, wheat, fish

or peanuts.

Under McDonald's interpretation of the FDA rules, Kapica said, the company

decided to note the presence of the wheat and dairy ingredients used to flavor

its fries. "If someone is really sensitive, they need to be aware that this

product was at one point derived from wheat and dairy," Kapica said.

On the other hand, anyone who has eaten the fries without incident "can

continue to do so," Kapica said. "The whole reason the FDA changed the

regulations was to err on the side of caution."

-By David P. Hamilton, The Wall Street Journal; 415-765-6116

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-10-06 1929ET

Copyright

[Guest nini]

THANK YOU SO MUCH DAVID!!!!!!

[teebs in WV]

Thank you so much for taking this seriously.

[VydorScope]

Thank you David for doing this foot work.

  Quote

. "If someone is really sensitive, they need to be aware that this

product was at one point derived from wheat and dairy," Kapica said.

On the other hand, anyone who has eaten the fries without incident "can

continue to do so," Kapica said

Now, that sounds more like an honest anwer then what I have heard out of them through this. I read it as

"Yes there is defintly some gluten in the fries, but it is a very small amount"

Thats much more reasonable the thier magical deep fryer answer. Since thier fries DO bother my son, I still will aviod them, but at least we have what i feel to be an honset answer now. Good work David!

[Guest nini]

  VydorScope said:

Thank you David for doing this foot work.

Now, that sounds more like an honest anwer then what I have heard out of them through this. I read it as

"Yes there is defintly some gluten in the fries, but it is a very small amount"

Thats much more reasonable the thier magical deep fryer answer. Since thier fries DO bother my son, I still will aviod them, but at least we have what i feel to be an honset answer now. Good work David!

I agree, this is the most reasonable honest answer yet... but it still means that they've always had gluten albiet a small amount, but that amount is enough to bother me and my daughter and unless they completely change the formula so that wheat is NOT EVER an ingredient or source, then I will not be a McDonald's customer again. Just can't trust them.

[psawyer]

David, thank you for taking an interest in this. We talked when you were researching your article last fall. When people like you can put our story out for everybody to see, it is a huge benefit for our cause. Public awareness is critical to getting our needs understood. Without the mass media, that will not happen. I can not thank you enough for what you have done and continue for us.

Peter.

[Canadian Karen]

David, I love you! You rock! You have done an amazing job in helping us get some answers. As usual, you have written a wonderful article...... Finally, someone was able to at least get some kind of a definitive answer on this issue.....

Did I mention you ROCK?

Karen

[Judyin Philly]

David,

May I add my sincere thanks to you for taking the time to use your talents and to help us all get some answers so we can keep on our continuing journey toward good health. We are so greatful to have you to be a 'voice' for us.

Judy in Philly

[mouse]

David, I wish also to thank you for getting an honest answer from McDonalds and for writing such a wonderful article. It is hard enough to live a normal life and try to regain our health, without a major food corporation lieing to us. We trusted them. Thank you again for being our voice.

[pixiegirl]

I'd like to copy the story that David wrote to another couple of lists and people but I don't want to violate the copyright, am I allowed to do that if I include all the info? If not is there a way to link directly to his post, not the page his post is on but the actual post?

thanks,

Susan

[VydorScope]

you can use this to directly link the post...

Open Original Shared Link

As for the copyright question, drop him a PM and see what he says.

[angel-jd1]

Good article, thanks for shedding some light onto the McD's fry scandal I appreciate your help in finding some answers! Not to mention the articles on celiac create awareness. Nice work.

-Jessica

  dpath said:

Folks: Here's what I learned from McDonald's and filed as a story to the Dow Jones newswires earlier today. It may be picked up in the online Wall Street Journal and possibly the print edition as well.

Best, David Hamilton

=WSJ: McDonald's: Fries Contain 'Wheat, Milk Ingredients'

Dow Jones News Service via Dow Jones

By David P. Hamilton

Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--McDonald's Corp. (MCD) said for the first time that

its french fries contain "wheat and milk ingredients" that might cause problems

for diners sensitive to these substances.

McDonald's had previously described its fries as free of substances that can

cause allergic or other medical reactions in sensitive people. The Oak Brook,

Ill., fast-food giant said the change in its ingredient disclosures followed its

decision to conform to new federal food-labeling rules, and does not reflect any

change in the ingredients of its fries or the way they are prepared.

Some people with food-sensitivity conditions found the change alarming,

largely because they had previously considered McDonald's fries safe based on

information supplied by the company. For instance, some individuals with celiac

disease - an autoimmune condition triggered by gluten, a protein found in wheat,

rye and barley - worried in an online forum whether the McDonald's fries had

always contained gluten, despite the company's assertions to the contrary.

(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall

Street Journal Web site, WSJ.com.)

Cathy Kapica, McDonald's director of global nutrition, said the company's

fries include a "natural flavoring" made, in part, from extracts of wheat and

dairy products. Kapica said those extracts are processed in ways designed to

remove wheat and dairy proteins, which are the substances generally responsible

for triggering allergies or food-sensitivity problems.

Until earlier this week, McDonald's described the natural flavoring as safe

for people with food allergies and other dietary sensitivities. On its Web site,

McDonald's listed the fries on a page of menu items "for people with gluten

sensitivity." On an "allergies and sensitivities" page, the fries were described

as free of gluten and milk or wheat "allergens."

More recently, however, McDonald's voluntarily decided to bring its

nutritional information into voluntary compliance with new Food and Drug

Administration food-labeling rules that took effect on Jan. 1. Those

regulations, which apply to packaged foods but not to restaurant meals, require

labels to note the presence of common allergens such as milk, eggs, wheat, fish

or peanuts.

Under McDonald's interpretation of the FDA rules, Kapica said, the company

decided to note the presence of the wheat and dairy ingredients used to flavor

its fries. "If someone is really sensitive, they need to be aware that this

product was at one point derived from wheat and dairy," Kapica said.

On the other hand, anyone who has eaten the fries without incident "can

continue to do so," Kapica said. "The whole reason the FDA changed the

regulations was to err on the side of caution."

-By David P. Hamilton, The Wall Street Journal; 415-765-6116

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-10-06 1929ET

Copyright ? 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

- - 07 29 PM EST 02-10-06

DJBTviaNewsEdge

:TICKER: MCD

:SUBJECT: FOOD CSU IL COMM ENTE

Copyright ? 2006 Dow Jones and Company, Inc.

Received by NewsEDGE/LAN: 2/10/2006 4:26 PM

[Carriefaith]

Thanks so much for writing that article! That means a lot to so many of us.