2 letters from Mcs- re:Fries

[Guest guest]

one of my listmates provided a copy of each of the 2 letters from Mcs she

received in regards to Milk and gluten. Both are provided here.

~Tami

Gluten:

Thank you for contacting Mc's with your questions concerning the recent

reports about the presence of gluten in our French fries and hash browns. First

and foremost, please understand that we care about our customers and that is why

Mc's communicates nutrition information about its menu items on its

website and in its restaurants.

We recently shared information on our website regarding the presence of

ingredients derived from wheat in the natural flavoring for our French fries and

hash browns in the United States. We want to take this opportunity to explain

how we became aware of this information and what it means.

The recent new law, called the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection

Act, requires producers of packaged foods to communicate on their labels the

presence of the main eight allergens and their derivatives. In conjunction with

the new law, the supplier of the natural flavoring used in our French fries and

hash browns informed Mc's of the use of wheat as a starting ingredient in

the natural flavoring. While the new law applies to packaged food products--not

the restaurant industry--in our ongoing efforts to communicate to our customers

we thought it was important to share this information.

In order to provide you with additional information, we have included in this

e-mail a link to a statement from the Celiac Sprue Association (CSA) posted on

their website

http://www.csaceliacs.org/documents/FinalCSAStatementMcs023006wlh_000.pdf.

The CSA statement summarizes their evaluation of the commercial manufacturing

process for the natural flavoring and the preparation of the French fries and

hash browns. We understand that this information is important to you because it

enables you to make individual choices about the foods you eat. We also

recommend that you continue to seek advice from your health care provider who is

familiar with Celiac Disease and your particular sensitivity to gluten.

We appreciate the valuable perspectives we have received on this important

topic. We hope that you find this information helpful and we thank you again for

your patronage and the trust you place in Mc's.

Sincerely,

E. Ph.D, R.D.

Corporate Vice President Worldwide Quality Systems and Nutrition

Mc's Corporation

********************************************************

Milk:

Thank you for contacting Mc's with your questions concerning the recent

reports about the presence of milk in our French fries and hash browns. First

and foremost, please understand that we care about our customers and that is why

Mc's communicates nutrition information about its menu items on its

website and in its restaurants. We also believe that those with a milk allergy

should discuss this information with their health care provider.

As it specifically relates to our French fries and hash browns, based upon input

from our suppliers, we have historically reported that our French fries and hash

browns in the U.S. were allergen-free.

In conjunction with the new Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act,

our suppliers informed us for the first time that hydrolyzed milk is one of the

ingredients in the natural flavoring used in the frying oil for these products.

Based on this new information, we updated nutrition disclosures on French fries

and hash browns on our website. We want to take this opportunity to expand on

the information we provided on our website, and to outline the steps we have

taken to further clarify the situation. We sincerely regret any confusion that

may have occurred.

This is what we can tell you. The frying oil used to prepare our French fries

and hash browns contains a natural flavoring. One ingredient in the natural

flavoring is hydrolyzed milk. We have reached out to the scientific community

for definitive answers concerning this starting ingredient. Initial testing was

conducted on the French fries and hash browns using a Neogen Veratox test at a

2.5 parts per million level of sensitivity. The Neogen Veratox test found no

detectable intact milk proteins. Because partially broken down milk proteins may

be present, and they also may be clinically significant for an individual with a

milk allergy, this test is not definitive. Consequently, we decided that

additional allergen testing be done on this ingredient using the

Radioallergosorbent Inhibition Test (RAST). The RAST test found some

milk-allergic residues in the hydrolyzed milk starting ingredient.

It should also be noted that the hydrolyzed milk ingredient is only a portion of

the natural flavoring and that the natural flavoring itself represents a small

amount of the frying oil.

That said, for people with a milk allergy, this new and important information

should be discussed with a health care provider.

We appreciate the valuable perspectives we have received on this important

topic. We hope that you find this information helpful and we thank you again for

your patronage and the trust you have placed in Mc's.

Sincerely,

E. Ph.D, R.D.

Corporate Vice President Worldwide Quality Systems, Food Safety and Nutrition

Mc's Corporation