McDonald’s is notorious for its fatty and good tasting foods and has been in the news because of McDonald’s lawsuits relating to the fatty content of their food and because of the now-famous documentary “Super Size Me.” More recently, they have gotten into legal trouble because of their French fry ingredients. Essentially there has been some inconsistency over their ingredient listing of allergens and this has led to confusion and a McDonald’s French fries lawsuit.
In February of this year, McDonald’s posted information indicating that their French fries contained milk and wheat, which prompted immediate reaction from a number of Celiac disease sufferers. Those who suffer from celiac disease cannot tolerate any wheat products in their diet. After the revelation, three lawsuits against McDonalds from celiac disease sufferers were filed.
McDonald’s then quickly followed up with revised nutritional information which identified that the French fries are actually gluten and milk free. Jack Daly, the senior vice president of McDonald’s stated to the media that “…[s]cientific evaluation by one of the world's leading experts on gluten sensitivity and allergenicity, Dr Steven Taylor of the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program of the University of Nebraska, has confirmed again that our fries are gluten free and allergen free.”
The question now is how much of a given ingredient needs to be present in a food product, for it to officially contain that ingredient? It is possible that McDonald’s found trace amounts of gluten and milk in their product, and merely looked to inform the public of the risk, but now, facing McDonald’s French fries lawsuits they are using scientific testing to prove that there is none of either ingredients in their French fries – or at least not enough to warrant official notification of the public.
According to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer protection act, McDonald’s is legally required to identify any of the eight major allergens associated with food. Those include milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans. In this instance, McDonald’s may have merely communicated improperly about ingredients that are not, in fact, in French fries, but if they had sold the item without the proper warning, they would have been liable for damages relating to any illness of injury created by this failure to warn.
Additionally, if a food product is contaminated or made defective in production, a person who suffers and injury from being exposed to that allergen or defect might also have a valid right to file a McDonald’s lawsuit.
If you, or someone you know, has been injured or made ill by a food ingredient that was not properly labeled, you may have an opportunity to seek damages or compensation. It is a restaurant’s responsibility to communicate any of the major eight food allergens that might be used in their food and if they do not, they are in violation of product liability statutes. You should communicate with a product liability attorney who can advise you if you are within the statute of limitations and if you have a valid product liability claim.