From: The Australian Newspaper - 18th June 1999Titled: Maccas Grilled on Burger Process
McDonald's fast-food chain will withdraw its "grilled" chicken burger after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it was misleading consumers by putting ornamental grill marks on its burgers yesterday. The ACCC said the burgers were not grilled; they were cooked in ovens with grill marks added later. "The ACCC raised serious concerns that consumers were being misled about the cooking process of the burger," a commission statement said. The US food chain gave the ACCC a court-enforceable undertaking that it would not advertise the burgers as "grilled". McDonald's advertised the burgers as a healthy alternative. McDonald's Australia said the burgers would be withdrawn from sale when present stocks ran out, but denied the decision had anything to do with the ACCC ruling. The burgers are cooked in an oven, then treated on a "heat and control rotary brander" to put grill marks on them. They are then frozen, transported to restaurants and recooked on a two-sided hot plate. The Australian Consumers Association - which raised concerns about the burgers -welcomed the decision. "Misleading consumers by the careless use of food terms is unacceptable," said spokeswoman Gail Kennedy.
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From: The Sydney Morning Herald - 18th June 1999
Title: Mac Chick is Plucked
McDonald's has been told to pluck chicken burgers off the menu after a finding yesterday that the "grill" marks were put on with a roller. The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission ruled yesterday that the chicken was fried and advertising for it "constituted misleading or deceptive conduct". In April, the Australian Consumers' Association accused McDonald's of deceiving customers with a product that was cooked and then fried on a hotplate. "The black marks don't come from a hot grill but are applied after cooking, with a hot roller," ACA spokeswoman Gail Kennedy crowed in the association's policy journal Consuming Interest. McDonald's said it would stop selling the product when stocks ran out. But its spokesman, Mr John Blyth, said this was unrelated to the ACCC decision.
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McSpotlight: Yeah, funny, isn't it? *grin*
