McDonald's has started printing nutritional info on its packaging confirmed managing director, MEA, Yousif Abdulghani.
Earlier this month McDonald’s said it would become the first quick-service restaurant to detail nutritional information of its food content on its packaging. A brave move, some might say, considering the brand is not famed for its health appeal.
But that’s not the point, asserted managing director of McDonald’s MEA, Yousif Abdulghani. Customers should know what they are eating and be given the opportunity to “make an informed decision,” as the region aims to shake its reputation for being one of the world’s fattest.
“We want our customers to have all of the information in front of them and be able to make an informed choice about how they choose to eat,” explained Abdulghani.
The average man’s recommended calorie intake per day is around 2,500 and for women is 2,000. One McDonald’s Big Mac meal would cost you 1485kCal, leaving you with fairly limited options for breakfast and dinner. Wouldn’t such knowledge just end up putting customers off?
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“It’s a matter of choice — we are confident in our restaurants and are sure sharing such knowledge with our consumers will strengthen our relationship,” said Abdulghani.
Dubai based ‘healthy-fast food’ outlet Kcal agrees. The company recently opened its fourth store in Al Barsha and its menu displays nutritional information.
In an interview with Caterer, Mark Carroll, founder Kcal, said: “With so much processed food available now the consumer should be more cautious when selecting their meals. Obesity and diabetes are already a large problem within the region so I think it’s time people started paying more attention to what they are consuming.”
But with the maximum item on its menu packing a calorie count of just 300kCal, it might be fair to say they almost have a right to shout about their nutritional info.
The McDonald’s announcement won’t mean a sudden move towards an “all-healthy” new menu, particularly when the GCC has expressed its love of the current offering, which rakes in a mighty US$2m a day.
“What you have today is very much a balanced menu. There are choices of grilled chicken or salad. We are responsive to our consumer needs and as these evolve, we will continue to offer different products. But our core menu will remain,” said Abdulghani.
But is everyone convinced to move the same way? Dubai publication 7Days revealed earlier this year that The Cheesecake Factory’s Bistro Shrimp Pasta contained a total of 3,120 calories, 50% more than the recommended intake for an average adult. The company was approached by Caterer about whether it would ever make this sort of information public to customers, but declined to comment.
Programme director at the School of Culinary and Finishing Arts in Dubai, Francisco Araya, believed detailing such information on menus would not necessarily result in a healthier world, and said care had to be exercised in how it was relayed.
“Not every outlet has an in-house nutritionist, so it is better not to give information than to provide wrong information and mislead customers.
Carroll agreed that many customers needed guidance surrounding nutritional information.
“Our in store staff is trained on the basics of nutrition to offer guidance and support when selecting your meals,” he said.
For McDonald’s this is the current area of focus before it moves to printing such data on its menus explained Abdulghani.
“We’re working on it. We won’t stop. Our focus now is on training staff; getting them to understand what it all means so they are better able to translate this to the customers.
Trying to get 900,000 staff to that level is challenging enough — we will look at further ways of being more transparent with customers in the future.”
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