The fast-food giant faces lawsuits in Seattle and elsewhere in North America and protests in India over using beef products in its french fries. Now it's offering an explanation and contrition on its Web site. McDonald's USA is always sensitive to customers' concerns. Because it is our policy to communicate to customers, we regret if customers felt that the information we provided was not complete enough to meet their needs. A Seattle lawyer who has sued McDonald's over its fries was unimpressed with the statement.
Apologies are good if they are sincere.
McDonald's then freezes the fries and ships them off to its U.S. restaurants, which cook the potatoes in vegetable oil, the company said. The company switched to vegetable oil for restaurant cooking of fries in 1990 to please cholesterol-conscious customers. The move attracted the attention of newspapers around the country. But Bharti says the 1990 announcement was deceptive. He sued McDonald's in King County Superior Court earlier this month over its continued use of what he believes is beef tallow in the processing of fries.