Back in January 2006 when the FDA allergen labeling law went into effect, McDonald’s listed wheat in the ingredients of their fries and hash browns. These items had been listed on the company website as gluten-free for several years at that point. At least one lawsuit may have been settled out of court over the wheat/fries issue. It involved a family with an autistic child that was sure they’d made their daughter worse by feeding her McDonald’s fries, which they believed were gluten-free. The data about the oil (that contains wheat as a starting agent) showed there was no gluten left in the final product and therefore the oil was considered gluten-free before it ever got to any McDonald’s locations. All the information about the oil being gluten-free was on the McDonald’s website, but it’s long since been taken down.
Shortly after the autistic family’s lawsuit was filed, a large ambulance chasing-type law firm went fishing for plaintiffs to participate in a class action lawsuit against McDonald’s – over the French fry issue. Someone from the firm joined every celiac message board they could find trying to recruit people to join the lawsuit. At least a couple of the sites kicked the person off within a day or so, after moderators reported what was going on. As far as I know, no class action lawsuit was ever filed regarding McDonald’s fries and gluten.
Since I know so many very reactive people with celiac that eat McDonald’s fries and hash browns weekly without issue, I wanted to get an update from the company about what is and isn’t gluten-free there. There is no gluten-free information on the McDonald’s website anymore. There are links to celiac and allergy websites, but that’s it. You can read the ingredient list to determine if the menu items seem safe to you, but nothing is listed as being gluten-free.
Below is the statement McDonald’s sent me. I explained that I was writing an article about this. As noted below, the company expects consumers to read the ingredients and figure it out what is (and is not) gluten-free for themselves. Obviously, people who were not able to read the entire explanation about the oil being gluten-free even though it used wheat as a starting agent (when it was posted on the McDonald’s website) are going to assume the fries and hash browns contain gluten. The ingredients even list wheat in bold letters.
Statement from McDonald’s regarding French fries and hash browns:
McDonald’s no longer maintains a list of products that are considered gluten free. We do, however, provide extensive nutrition and ingredient information for our nationally offered menu product on our website. We update the information on our website (http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/eat.html) frequently as we receive new information from our product suppliers. We encourage you to read our ingredient statements and make personal decisions that meet your specific dietary needs.
Again, thank you for contacting McDonald’s and we hope to have the opportunity to serve you again soon.
Donnell
McDonald’s Customer Response Center
Everyone has to make their own decision about what they consume, of course. Unless McDonald’s changed something about the oil processing, the oil is likely still gluten-free, as it has been for many years. However, if the company is going to use a lawyer’s approach in dealing with our community, I’ll pass on the occasional hash browns I used to enjoy several times a year. Over 50% of people surveyed by The Savvy Celiac reported that McDonald’s fries were their favorite, by the way. The post is very informative and worth reading, if you missed it. It was published in February of this year, over three years after the wheat was declared in the oil ingredients on the McDonald’s website.
It seems like with hundreds (maybe thousands) of people around the country going gluten-free each month, McDonald’s might have to rethink their position about not dealing with our market in a more thoughtful way. The company is one of the most successful, and therefore one of the most sued, in the world. For that reason, I do understand their position to a degree.
It’s kind of odd to think you can get a gluten-free bun in several other countries at McDonald’s and in the U.S. you can’t even get confirmation that anything in the restaurant is gluten-free. That says a lot about our country’s legal system and none of it is positive. The good news is that there are a ton of companies that want every penny they can get out of our market. Those companies do maintain gluten-free product lists to help us enjoy safe food at their establishments.
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The big problem IME with McDonald’s is that they don’t always use dedicated fryers for the hash browns and fries. My wife has been poisoned a few times by eating GF items that were cooked in cross-contaminated oil, so she just won’t eat McDonald’s any longer. A pity they don’t have the list up any longer.
Excuse me, bur I don’t think McDonald’s behavior is indicative of the whole of our country. And “…none of it is positive” ? Maybe you might want to think about moving to another country if you feel so strongly about this one?
gin – Good catch! I left out ‘legal system’ in my post so I’ve corrected it. And for the record, after eating out so easily in London and Paris three months after my celiac dx, we did consider trying to move out of the country. It was shocking to me that the U.S. was so far behind many other countries on this issue. However, instead of running from a problem I decided to join forces with other like minded indiviuals here and affect change here at home.
Hi,
Just wanted to point out that although McDonalds may not maintain a gluten-free list anymore (a list of foods that are gluten-free), it still does clearly list ingredients for all its foods on its website. On that list, as ever, french fries and hash browns both contain the same info: that they contain wheat due to the natural beef flavoring that is used. That gluten, according to the Celiac Sprue Association, apparently is undetectable once the final product is consumed.
So in other words, nothing’s really changed, except McDonalds just isn’t going to specifically say something is gluten-free or not…you just have to look at the ingredients and make your own informed choice. As before
Hi to all ,
I am Coeliac and I live in Australia. Fortunately here in Oz, we have a large range of Gluten Free Products. The McDonalds saga is the same here. The store Managers tell us our fries are gluten free the oil is gluten free, but they use the same fryers to cook the apple turnovers which are not gluten free, therefore the cross contamination occurs and they cannot advertise gluten free.
Cheers,
Rhonda
Dave – excellent point. Even at places with dedicated fryers, mistakes will always be possible. I’ve not had issues with MD’s hashbrowns on the few trips I’ve had them during the last four years. Everyone should make their own decisions about what to eat. It always surprises me that so many people think it’s their job to tell people what – or even where – they can eat. I look at it this way – I’ll eat what I choose to and let others do the same. I don’t care if others never eat out because they think it’s too risky. In turn, others should not care that I love eating out and do it often – and successfully. Why are so many in our community overly concerned with what other people are doing regarding their diet? It’s just baffling to me. There is a difference between being helpful and trying to make people neurotic.
Rhonda – MD’s does require their stores to maintain different fryers for gluten and non gluten items in the U.S. That said, it would be ridiculous to think that an employee never makes a mistake by throwing some gluten item into a potato fryer.
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It would seem to me that more restaurants will get on board with catering at least a portion of their menu to gluten free when they realize they are not just losing the one gluten free customer, but rather everyone that person eats out with. My friends are more than happy to choose a restaurant that is gluten free friendly when eating out with me, and I offer the restaurants I know I can eat at and we go from there. McDonald’s has been off my list, since I am newly diagnosed and have always heard there are problems at McDonald’s, and there are other gluten free friendly fast food places to eat at.
Honestly, what is the big deal in having a gluten free list? The ingredient list and allergen information list should identify ingredients that are allergenic and if you don’t feel satisfied, contact McDonald’s and tell them. I say this coming from Australia where labeling laws are far more strict than in America. Wheat, rye, barley and oats are regarded as allergens (as of 2003) and have to be clearly labeled on all ingredient lists (excluding alcoholic beverages).
Hungry Jacks, here in Australia, is a business who’s information is misleading. On their french fries ingredient listing, on their website, there is no listing of any gluten products. The fries, however, do contain gluten due to being cooked in the same oil vat as chicken nuggets.