Food Allergy Expert Reacts To Mcdonald's News Of Allergens

[Claire]

Brief but it gets the message out. Claire

FOOD ALLERGY EXPERT REACTS TO MCDONALD'S NEWS OF ALLERGENS IN COOKING OIL

Dr. Ellen Cutler is concerned about the hidden allergins in fast food and feels that parents need to know what their kids are eating.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) March 15, 2006 -- After years of misinformation to the public about their fries being free of allergens, McDonald’s has recently disclosed that the very oil they cook the fries in has allergens in the form of derivatives of dairy, wheat and gluten in it. Allergy specialist, Dr. Ellen Cutler announced today that she has some deep concerns about the public’s health and their absolute need to know about the ingredients in their food.

Dr. Cutler is the author of the Food Allergy Cure and says that the ingredients in McDonald’s frying oil can cause severe allergic reaction to many and children are the most vulnerable. “Even the slightest hint of wheat, for example, can cause highly allergic symptoms such as fatigue, asthma, rashes, ADD symptoms, as well as all the myriad of digestive distress such as heartburn, bloating and irritable bowel,” she said.

“Dairy can also cause a severe allergic reaction for some people and is very common in autistic children and children with ADHD, Just a little bit of dairy can create severe setbacks,” she added. “Sometimes even a little bit of dairy can cause asthma, severe digestive symptoms, and anaphylactic reaction in individuals and this is especially true for children.”

Ellen Cutler, DC, MD has written three books on the prevention and treatment of allergies, obesity and chronic health problems, including Winning the War Against Asthma and Allergies, Winning the War Against Immune Disorders and Allergies and The Food Allergy Cure. Her latest work is reflected in her latest book MicroMiracles, Discover the Healing Power of Enzymes (Rodale Press, September 2005). She is available for interviews on this topic. For media interviews call Connie St John, The St John Group, 415-454-2243.

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[psawyer]

So, Dr Cutler has issued a press release promoting her books. Is there an independent, neutral source which agrees with her position? This source (PRWeb) is nothing more than a place where anybody can post a press release. I'm not saying she is wrong, just that I doubt the objectivity of this source.

[ms-sillyak-screwed]

Claire -- Thank you for posting the press release!

[mmaccartney]

So, Dr Cutler has issued a press release promoting her books. Is there an independent, neutral source which agrees with her position? This source (PRWeb) is nothing more than a place where anybody can post a press release. I'm not saying she is wrong, just that I doubt the objectivity of this source.

There certainly has been:

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[psawyer]

After years of misinformation to the public about their fries being free of allergens, McDonald’s has recently disclosed that the very oil they cook the fries in has allergens in the form of derivatives of dairy, wheat and gluten in it.

Emphasis added by me.

The issues are:

Did McDonalds misinform the public? Or, did they tell everything they knew as soon as they knew it?

Is it possible to use milk and/or wheat in an ingredient source and not have any allergen (protein) left in the final product?

In the first case, the facts suggest that McDonalds was as honest as possible. They voluntarily disclosed the concern as soon as their supplier made them aware. They arranged for an independent investigation. They made the results of that investigation public.

McDonalds did not disclose the presence of allergens in the product. They disclosed the use of milk and wheat derivatives in the production of an ingredient in the product. It is easy to confuse the two, but they are not the same thing.

The independent investigation showed that there were no milk or wheat proteins in the final product. Allergens are protein. Not everybody believes that this is possible. It is generally accepted that distilled products (liquor and vinegar) are gluten free even if the source material contains gluten. This is because the gliadin (gluten) molecule is huge and thus very heavy. It does not evaporate so it is not present in the distillate.

I'm not sure FAAN is a neutral source. In any case, there is no factual evidence in their statement. Allegations, yes, but no proof to back them up. They do offer the prudent advice, "Until there is more information about the real risk from McDonald’s French fries, FAAN advices consumers with milk and wheat allergy to avoid eating this product."

I am putting on my flak jacket, and keeping a shell close by.

[pixiegirl]

You don't need your flack jacket for my response but..... (always a but!)......

I can't say if McDonalds knew what was in their oil or not; however, its amazing to me that a company as big as McDonalds didn't know and if they truly didn't its amazing to me that when they put information on their web site as to the ingredients in their products that someone in that company didn't say, "hey we buy flavored oil from xyz company maybe we need to see whats in that product". They are either liars or just stupid (or had an inkling that it might contain "something" and didn't ask xyz company intentionally), how can you post ingredients and/or allergy information and NOT ask suppliers whats in their supplied products?

Susan

[Claire]

There certainly has been:

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Thanks for this piece. PRweb is not in any way disreputable because it posts submitted press releases. Certainly people promote themselves and their works - even that is not disreputable. As a news editor I always check a 'doubtful' story against other sources - if I can find another source on the same subject. If I can't I usually just forget it. Publicity is another name for PR but doesn't necessarily imply untruth. Claire

It sounds to me like we are expecting a level of awareness on the part of company employees that they just do not have Were any of us here as consciously aware of the hidden sources of reactive substances before it became a personal issue? Who would expect to find gluten in a cooking oil? Certainly not something that would set off immediate suspicion. Claire

[VydorScope]

The way I see it, if your that worried about gluten, why the heck would you be eating at a fast food joint? You probably cant find much of a higher risk place to eat.

Face it NO ONE goes to McDonald's for good clean healthy food. YOu go there to get crap quailty that happens in many cases TASTE good, and get it fiarly fast. Heck you cant even call it cheap any more. It just fast decent tasting semi-organic materail.

[aaascr]

Just a bit off topic but:

While having a cool adult conversation with my

22 y o son, McD's came up since he used to work

for them. One of the things he mentioned was that they

did have a dedicated fryer at his location(s),

but if they were out of

fries and needed them badly (long lines), the fries

also got cooked in the non-dedicated fryers.

Mix those fries together and you have me stayin'

away from it all.

[ms-sillyak-screwed]

But how does the consumer know what vats the fries are fried in?

And how do you know if the vats are cleaned each and every night and it the cleaning agent will distroy gluten.

Don't loose sight that each McD is different. Some are owned by the corp McD and others are franchise and don't stick to the guidelines set by corp.

Everyone get on their soap box about we should know better not to eat at McD. But not everyone is as smart are you are, or understands the celiac disease as you might. We all go through our learning process with celiac disease as what to eat and not eat.