McDonald’s menu boards to display calorie counts

McDonald’s already offers nutrition information about its products on in-store trayliners, brochures and on its websites. The new introduction is the result of McDonald’s continuous efforts to make information on the nutritional profile of its products more accessible.

“Consumers are more and more conscious of the quality and balance of their nutrient intake. We want to be in tune with these needs. Exactly a year ago we made important changes to our products, reducing the sodium, sugar and fat content of our menu and reformulating the Happy Meal to contain less than 600 calories. In 2007, we eliminated added trans fats and introduced salads, yogurt and cereals to our offerings,” said Woods Staton, President and CEO of Arcos Dorados, the company responsible for the management of brand McDonald’s in Latin America. “It is important that our customers are well informed as they choose our products, and in this sense making information available on the menu is of great relevance.”

By adopting this measure, the chain continues to evolve its communications and incorporates a new, visible and easily accessible channel that will help customers make even more informed decisions.

Ongoing Menu Evolution

In 2011, important menu evolutions were implemented in Latin America:

Sodium

• Average sodium reduction of ten percent in buns, McNuggets, cheese and ketchup.

• In the Happy Meal, the two sandwich options and the McNuggets had their sodium content reduced by around ten percent.

Sugar

• Amount of sugar added to juices cut by nearly 40 percent to less than five grammes added sugars per 100ml.

Kids’ Menu

• The new Happy Meal composition, with four items, includes a serving of fresh fruit.

All combinations of McDonald’s children’s menu now have less than 600 calories and provide one-third of the daily energy needs of kids aged six to ten.

• The new Happy Meal contains more vitamins and minerals, less sodium, less sugar and fewer calories.

Adults’ Menu

• Adults’ Extra Value Meals have two side options: traditional French fries or a side salad (under ten calories).

• The salad side option makes for an average reduction of 20 percent in the EVM total calorie count.

Menu evolution has seen a track record of innovations in Latin America. Developments of previous years include (some of products listed below have been discontinued from our menu and replaced by new launches):