McDonald's offers 'healthy' happy meal

Nutrition: The McDonald's Happy Meal menu is to be relaunched on March 30th to include healthier options such as fruit and milk.

The meals, aimed at young children, will include the choice of chips or a bag of sliced apple and grapes. As well as carbonated drinks, children will be able to choose a bottle of milk, Ribena Toothkind or orange juice.

Siobhán Murray, spokeswoman for McDonald's Restaurants of Ireland, said the milk was in a "funky, child-friendly" packaging, with a screw top lid so that children could take an unfinished drink with them.

She said McDonald's had no illusion that children would switch en-masse to fruit instead of chips, but said it would give them a healthier option. If parents were buying two Happy Meals, they could choose one portion of fruit and one portion of chips and encourage children to share.

The fast food chain is also planning a major revamp of its general menu and is phasing out the "super-size" portion. By September, this extra large portion will not be available in the State. Ms Murray said this was not on health grounds but was a case of consumer demand. Earlier this month, US outlets agreed to phase out their "super-size" portions.

The new healthier menu will vary from country to country but will retain core staples such as the Big Mac. However, some items will be replaced by others.

The revamped UK menu, which will be launched in two weeks, has already come under fire. Last week, it emerged that one of its new menu items - a chicken Caesar salad - contains more fat than a cheeseburger.

The "Caesar salad with Chicken Premiere" contains 18.4 grams of fat compared with 11.5 grammes of fat in a standard cheeseburger. Full-fat dressings and croutons greatly increase the calorific content of such meals.

Ms Murray said this was not an issue for Irish consumers as the item was not available here. It had not been decided if this product should be added to the new menu, she said.

Meanwhile, McDonald's in the US is to offer burgers and other sandwiches without buns for consumers on low-carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins diet.

It is also planning an extension of its opening hours in many US outlets, with more providing a 24-hour service.

McDonald's now has 68 restaurants in this State and recently came under criticism from Mid Western Health Board dietitians for its plans to open an outlet in Ennis.

With the launch of a new Government task-force on obesity, the fast food chain has begun to fight back against accusations that it has created obesity problems.

McDonald's Restaurants of Ireland recently commissioned independent nutritionist Ms Nuala Collins to compare the calorific content of its products with other lunchtime choices.

She found that a Big Mac contained 493 calories compared with 739 calories in a thick cut tuna sandwich with cheese and mayonnaise.

A crusty baguette with bacon, lettuce and tomato bought at a petrol forecourt had 731 calories, compared with the 375 calories in a McChicken sandwich.

Ms Murray said McDonald's was targeted for criticism because it was the biggest brand, but, ultimately, people had to make their own informed choices about their diet.

In an unprecedented move, McDonald's will soon run television advertisements encouraging people to inform themselves about the nutritional content of their meals. The fast food chain has carried nutritional leaflets in its outlets for some time.