Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 6, 1990 TAG: 9004060486
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JESUS SANCHEZ LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The world's largest fast-food chain on Wednesday denounced full-page newspaper advertisements that stated "McDonald's, Your Hamburgers Have Too Much Fat!" and urged the company and other restaurants to reduce the fat in their hamburger meat by 10 percent.
"It is reckless, it is misleading and we think it is intended more to scare people than to inform them," said McDonald's spokesman Chuck Rubner.
The ads were paid for by Phil Sokolof, a wealthy Omaha, Neb., manufacturing executive and self-styled consumer health advocate. His previous ads have attacked the use of palm and coconut oils in cookies and other prepared foods, with the result that numerous food makers, including Keebler and Pepperidge Farms, agreed to cut back or eliminate the tropical oils, which are high in saturated fat.
Saturated fat consumption can increase cholesterol levels and lead to heart disease, many health officials say.
In this week's ads, which ran in newspapers that included Wall Street Journal and USA Today, Sokolof's National Heart Savers Association took aim at saturated fats in beef and dairy products. Topped by a large headline that read "The Poisoning of America," the ad urged readers to eat smaller portions of leaner meats and lower-fat dairy products.
The ad also said McDonald's Big Mac and a bag of french fries contain 25 grams of saturated fats, and one ounce of Kraft American cheese contains 5.5 grams. Most health guidelines recommend individuals limit daily saturated-fat consumption to 22 grams.
But McDonald's disputed Sokolof's claims, saying its Big Mac and fries contain from 15 to 19 grams of saturated fat. The chain said the fat content of its hamburger ranges from 17 percent to 19 percent - not the 21.5 percent Sokolof claims in his ad.
Some newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, refused to run the ad. A Times spokeswoman said the paper rejected the ad because it was believed to be unfair and the Times feared the legal liability of running an ad that made accusations against a particular company.
But Sokolof - who suffered a heart attack 24 years ago that he blamed on high cholesterol levels - and his high-profile campaign were supported by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group.
"His attempt to alert people to the dangers of saturated fat is a good one," said Jayne Hurley, the center's nutritionist. "Americans are eating way too much saturated fats."
by CNB