McDonald's Australia launches next stage of nutrition labelling

McDonald's Australia today announced plans to roll out Percent Daily Intake (%DI) on packaging.CEO Peter Bush said McDonald's Australia has set a new benchmark for the quick service industry with the introduction of the next generation of nutrition labelling.

"Our commitment to customers is to provide them with as much information as we can so they can make informed choices," he said.

"From next month we will be introducing %DI on our packaging so customers can see what percentage of their total daily intake of energy and nutrients are in our products. This includes our burgers, fries and salads."

% DI represents the ideal daily intake of energy, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugar and sodium for an average adult. This is intended as a guide to help people make choices about the foods they eat. Daily intakes are based on an average adult diet of 8700kJ as determined by Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Individual's daily intake may be higher or lower depending on energy needs, which vary from person to person depending on gender, age, weight and activity levels.

"In 2004 McDonald's Australia was one of the first restaurant chains in the country and indeed the world to offer customers nutrition labelling on our packaging.

"Two years later we are enhancing the nutrition information and going that next step with the introduction of %DI."

To help customer's understand this next stage of labelling, McDonald's will embark on an education campaign which will include in-store communication, a TV commercial and information on our website .

"McDonald's Australia has been providing nutrition information to our customers for more than 20 years. This has been done through brochures and more recently with information on our website - www.mcdonalds.com.au.

This next stage of nutritional labelling is just one of the many innovations that McDonald's will introduce in the next few months.

"In November we will be introducing a next generation canola oil blend that will be virtually free of trans fatty acids and still with the same great taste. The new oil, like our existing oil, will be in line with recognised guidelines for healthy oils, "Mr Bush said

"Our journey has only just begun and we will continue to find ways to improve the quality of our food, to expand the choices available on our menu and how we communicate to customers."