While it’s being widely reported that McDonald’s is banishing the cheeseburger from its Happy Meal, the fast-food restaurant will still include the item upon customer request.
While it’s being widely reported that McDonald’s is banishing the cheeseburger from its Happy Meal, the fast-food restaurant will still include the item upon customer request.
McDonald’s announced in a Thursday morning, Feb. 15 news release it was furthering its commitment to healthier choices by making each listed Happy Meal option come in less or equal to 600 calories and 650 milligrams of sodium.
The fast-food giant will only list the hamburger, 4- and 6-piece Chicken McNuggets on its menu, but will offer the cheeseburger „at a customer’s request“ to come with a Happy Meal.
Other changes include replacing the small french fries that come with the 6-piece McNugget Happy Meal with the kids-sized option, removing chocolate milk from the menu while offering at a customer’s request and listing bottled water as a featured beverage choice.
These full changes will take effect in June of this year across the U. S
„We recognise the opportunity that we have to support families as one of the most visited restaurants in the world, and remain committed to elevating our food, celebrating the joy of reading, and helping those in need through Ronald McDonald House Charities,“ Steve Easterbrook, McDonald’s CEO, said in the release.
„Given our scale and reach, we hope these actions will bring more choices to consumers and uniquely benefit millions of families, which are important steps as we build a better McDonald’s.“
McDonald’s reports in the release that this technique has worked in the past, and that it believes there will be a major drop in orders of cheeseburger Happy Meals. Back in 2013, McDonald’s removed pop from its Happy Meal beverage selection which has since resulted in a 14 percent increase of water, milk or juice orders.
It reports in the release that in December 2013,38 percent of Happy Meal orders came with a water. Flash-forward to December 2017, and the fast-food giant says that 52 percent of Happy Meals were ordered with its bottled water. This marked the first time in the company’s history that more than half of the Happy Meals ordered in the U. S. came with something other than pop.
Chocolate milk could return to the listed Happy Meal menu if McDonald’s succeeds in reducing its sugar levels, the company says in the release.
In December 2017, McDonald’s made the switch to a new juice option that contained 45 fewer calories and about half the sugar than the preview 100 percent apple juice it served stateside.
„From day one, Healthier Generation knew our work with McDonald’s could influence broad-scale improvements to meal options for kids everywhere,“ Dr. Howell Wechsler, CEO of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, said in the release. „Today’s announcement represents meaningful progress to impact kids‘ calories, saturated fat, sodium and added sugar in Happy Meal bundles as offered on menu boards – and to promote more water.
„This sets a high bar, and we hope other industry leaders will follow suit.“
