The US-based fast food giant McDonald's has pledged to improve the nutritional value of its food in a bid to strengthen the firm's image as a responsible corporation in society.

The firm revealed last week in Beijing that it plans to use vegetable oil instead of animal oil in China by the end of this year. Such a switch will be implemented worldwide by the end of next year, said Lynn Tan, general manager of Beijing McDonald's Food Co Ltd.

Tan said tests carried out in its outlets in Tianjin had already proven to be "very successful."

"Both customers and staff working at restaurants say the food tastes the same as before," said an anonymous official with McDonald's China's quality assurance department.

He said special recipes had also helped them to maintain the taste status quo.

McDonald's widely uses beef fat to fry its French Fries and chicken nuggets because it is considered more tasty than its vegetable counterpart. But nutritionists say over-consumption of animal fat may produce artery-clogging fatty acids.

Added to which, there was still no evidence to say whether beef fat could cause BSE, or "mad cow disease."

"We can avoid the disease in beef itself, but fat is beyond our control. To be safe, we have decided to replace all cooking oil," Tan explained.

The firm refused to say how much the switch had cost, but said food safety was paramount.

McDonald's has more than 30,000 outlets in 122 countries and regions. In China, it had opened 580 restaurants by the end of April.

Experts applauded the move. "Being the world's largest fast food operator, McDonald's decision to use healthier oil will push more companies to join the action, and that will boost the development of the whole sector," said Bian Jiang, deputy secretary-general of the China Cuisine Association.

Bian said McDonald's on the one hand was improving the nutrition of its food and on the other, were strengthening their corporate image as being responsible in society.

But Bian said the switch was "a bit too early" in China.

"China is still a developing country, and its vast number of people are still low on animal fat consumption, where in many developed countries, there are now problems of obesity," he explained.

McDonald's has not decided what type of vegetable oil to use, but the quality assurance official said the firm will take every effort to avoid genetically modified (GM) oil.

He told China Business Weekly that the oil suppliers will remain the same, but the firm will require them to avoid GM oil.

The official said McDonald's maintains a globally unified standard on the issue, and will strictly follow company guidelines on the switch.

But he admitted it is "unavoidable" that there might be some GM ingredients, such as farina.

Major McDonald's competitor KFC has been using vegetable oil for years, said Wang Qun, senior director of public affairs with Yum! Brands, the owner of the fast food chain.

She refused to say if any GM oil was used, but did say that all their restaurants strictly followed food safety guidelines in China.

There are so far no clear rules on the legality of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in China. All raw materials that come from GMOs must be labelled, but this does not apply to food served in restaurants.

There are still disputes about the safety of GMOs, said Deng Huafeng, a researcher with the China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Centre.

He personally believes such foods are safe. "So far, there is no evidence to show they are harmful to people," he said.

But even if products do not actually cause harm, it does not necessarily mean they are safe, said Wang Jie, an official in charge of biospecies security at the State Environmental Protection Administration.

McDonald's say food safety is at the top of the firm's agenda. "We are very cautious on the issue," said Tan, adding the firm keeps an all-round watch on food safety, from raising animals, supply chains to cooking in the restaurants and finally serving customers.

(Business Weekly 08/31/2004 page11)