Parents of child with Celiac sue Mcs( wheat in french fries)

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Fla. Parents Sue Mc's, Claiming Fries Made Daughter Ill

POSTED: 6:37 pm EST February 18, 2006

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The parents of a 5-year-old girl sued

Mc's Corp., claiming its french fries contained a wheat protein

that caused their daughter to become seriously ill.

Mark and Theresa Chimiak of Jupiter said in the lawsuit filed Friday

in Palm Beach Circuit Court that their daughter lise had an

intolerance to gluten.

The Chimiaks said they filed the lawsuit after Mc's acknowledged

earlier in the week that wheat and dairy ingredients were used in

cooking oil for french fries.

The family's attorney, W. , said the family had checked

with Mc's before she ate the fries.

" They were assured by Mc's Web site and local restaurant

managers that the product was gluten-free, " said.

Media calls Saturday to Mc's corporate offices were directed to

a phone line that rang unanswered.

According to the lawsuit, lise became seriously ill with advanced

celiac disease, an autoimmune condition, as well as epileptic seizures

and stomach ulcers.

Jack Daly, senior vice president of Mc's Corp., said Friday in

an e-mail to the Palm Beach Post that the company had not yet had the

chance to review the case.

" However, we can tell you that we are in the middle of conducting

research to determine that our fries have no gluten, " Daly said.

Mc's said Monday that wheat and dairy ingredients flavor the

fries. The substances can cause allergic or other medical reactions in

food-sensitive consumers.

Until recently, Mc's had said its fries were free of gluten and

milk or wheat allergens and safe to eat for those with dietary issues

related to dairy items. But the fast-food company added " Contains

wheat and milk ingredients " this month to the french fries listing on

its Web site.

The move was in response to new rules for the packaged foods industry

by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that required reporting of

the presence of common allergens such as milk, eggs, wheat, fish or

peanuts. As a restaurant operator, Oak Brook, Ill.-based Mc's

does not have to comply but has done so voluntarily.

Mc's director of global nutrition, Kapica, said earlier

this week that potato suppliers remove all wheat and dairy proteins,

such as gluten, which can cause allergic reactions. But the flavoring

agent in the cooking oil is a derivative of wheat and dairy

ingredients, and the company noted their presence after FDA stipulated

that potential allergens be disclosed.

The Chimiaks asked damages for claims of product liability,

negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation and violation of the Florida

Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. They claimed the fries

contained gluten despite assurances they were gluten-free and safe for

people with gluten allergies.

lise ate Mc's fries between 2004 and 2006, the lawsuit states.

The Chimiaks sued both Mc's corporation and Jupiter Festival

Ltd., a franchisee.

It is not the only case spawned by the admission that wheat and dairy

ingredients were used in the fries' cooking oil.

Debra Moffatt of Lombard, Ill., on Friday filed a proposed

class-action lawsuit claiming the fast-food giant misled the public.

Her attorney says she has celiac disease that causes gastrointestinal

symptoms when set off by eating gluten, a protein found in wheat.

Nadia Sugich of Los Angeles sued Mc's on Wednesday, saying she

is a vegan and would not have bought or eaten the fries if she had

known they were not vegan.

In 2002, the company paid $10 million to settle a lawsuit by

vegetarian groups after it was disclosed that its fries were being

cooked in beef-flavored oil.

The company also paid $8.5 million in February 2005 to settle a suit

by a nonprofit group that claimed the company misled consumers by

announcing it was changing its cooking oil, then delaying the change.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.