My vegan ex-roomie is gonna be so pissed...

madis_mommy04 · #1 (**permalink**) 02-20-2006, 07:25 PM

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/02/19/fr....ap/index.html

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- McDonald's Corp. faces at least three lawsuits claiming the fast-food giant misled the public after it acknowledged earlier this week its french fries contain milk and wheat ingredients.

Debra Moffatt of Lombard, Illinois, seeks unspecified damages in a suit filed Friday in Chicago. Her attorney, Thomas Pakenas, said his client has celiac disease, which causes gastrointestinal symptoms set off by eating gluten, a protein found in wheat.

Jack Daly, McDonald's senior vice president, said in a statement the company had not reviewed the case yet and is testing its fries for gluten through a food allergy research program at the University of Nebraska.

Mark and Theresa Chimiak of Jupiter, Florida, sued Friday in Florida, claiming their 5-year-old daughter has an intolerance to gluten and became seriously ill after eating the fries.

Nadia Sugich of Los Angeles sued Wednesday, saying she eats no animal products and would not have eaten the fries had she known they contained dairy ingredients.

McDonald's, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, said Monday that wheat and dairy products are used to flavor its fries.

Before its acknowledgment Monday, the company had quietly added "Contains wheat and milk ingredients" to the french fries listing on its Web site.

Oh man. She even asked McDonald's if their fries had any animal products and they told her no, and that they were cooked in vegetable oil. I'm not vegan and truthfully I wouldn't wanna be, but for those who are, this is a BIG FREAKING DEAL. But do you think it's grounds for a lawsuit? If the customer asked what was in it? How about if they didn't?

Beth,Alyssa,Robby · #2 (**permalink**) 02-20-2006, 07:47 PM

Call me crazy, but I don't think the teenaged cashier at the drive through window really knows what is in their fries. Who even knows if it is really beef in their buurgers?

Gybrwe · #3 (**permalink**) 02-20-2006, 07:57 PM

Well, lets clarify something:

The fries did *NOT* contain gluten or milk product. The seasoning did. McDonald's tested the fries some time back and found them both gluten and milk free. They did not test the seasonings until later.

Don't know if that'll get them off, but it does change things a bit.

And I read a report someplace where an independent doctor said that the amount of gluten and milk in the seasonings was so minute that the likelihood of an allergic reaction was greatly reduced, even for people with allergies. Can't remember where I read that tho'...might have been CNN or someplace like that.

Bill

sugarmesweet · #4 (**permalink**) 02-20-2006, 08:07 PM

Call me crazy, but I don't think the teenaged cashier at the drive through window really knows what is in their fries. Who even knows if it is really beef in their buurgers?

I agree with this. I think most of the time the employees really don't know and will say anything to get people out of their window.

I used to be a waitress and other servers used to pull that crap all the time. They would lie to customers about what was in food just to shut them up. Most of the time they had no idea what they were talking about.

I think it would be good for someone to win a lawsuit like this. And I'm reeeaaaallly anal about people suing for no reason. But it does seem like restaurants need to be a little more responsible and make sure they are properly training their employees. A little financial accountability might encourage that a little...

BooBooKItty · #5 (**permalink**) 02-20-2006, 08:40 PM

Anyone has access to the list of ingredients anytime they want to look them up. This is ridiculous. Like some kid working there for a week is going to know what is in their french fries. This lawsuit is going to get soooo dropped.

Emaline · #6 (**permalink**) 02-20-2006, 09:20 PM

Anyone has access to the list of ingredients anytime they want to look them up.

Not true. These where not listed in the ingredients until very recently. As a person who has a son with allergies I find this greatly disturbing. Yes I have had to ask every time we went out to eat what is in their food, if they did not know or they were not sure, I would not get it. Alex's allergies are, with the exception of peanuts, not that severe. However there are people who can have deathly allergic reactions to these things.

luvmy2girls11 · #7 (**permalink**) 02-20-2006, 10:07 PM

I am also disturbed by this,I also have 2 children with allergies and I always ask for a list of ingredients,if they don't have it available for then my girls don't eat it.

BooBooKItty · #8 (**permalink**) 02-20-2006, 11:27 PM

Originally Posted by Emaline

Not true. These where not listed in the ingredients until very recently.

How recently? I spefically looked on thier site for a list of ingredients a year ago.