McDonald's Canada to Offer Lighter Menu

Mon 19 January, 2004 23:40

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TORONTO (Reuters) - With fast food coming under fire from groups as diverse as documentary film makers, health advocates and the overweight, McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Ltd. said on Monday it will list the calories in all the food it sells and offer Canadians a new, lighter menu.

The move to embrace healthier eating comes amid growing concerns over the links between obesity and fast-food meals like hamburgers and French fries, and in the wake of U.S. lawsuits that blame McDonald's Corp. MCD.N for customers' weight problems.

By March, McDonald's Canada expects to carry items like grilled cheese sandwiches and apple slices with caramel sauce as options for children. At least two new salads and more grilled chicken items will be added to menus in some 1,300 restaurants across the country.

But the biggest change will be the decision to provide nutritional details on posters at counter and on the back of every tray-liner.

Everything from a package of ketchup, which has 2.4 grams of carbohydrates, to a bacon double cheeseburger, which has 25 grams of fat and 36 grams of carbohydrates, will be listed.

"We want consumers to have the information to make better choices," said Richard Ellis, a spokesman for McDonald's Canada.

Similar nutrition listings are now offered at Canadian sandwich and doughnut chain Tim Hortons, a unit of Wendy's International Inc. WEN.N .

McDonald's will also cater to the popularity of low-carbohydrate meals, popularized by the high-protein Atkins diet, and will offer protein platters -- basically meals without bread.

In New York, McDonald's tested a low-carbohydrate plan that it said would help customers customize meals on its menu within three dieting styles: low fat, low calorie, and low carb.