McDonald's settles trans fat lawsuit

The mainstream view on trans fat is that it is an unnecessary part of the food supply, and we should consume as little of it as possible. The federal government's Dietary Guidelines recommend that the food industry help by reducing trans fats in its products. With great fanfare, McDonald's promised in 2002 to change to cooking oils with less trans fat, a change that was to be completed in February 2003. When the company quietly retreated from this plan in the following years, consumer adocates sued. The advocates just won their case yesterday. In a settlement, McDonald's agreed to publicize its retreat from its plan to change to healthier oils and donate $7 million to the American Heart Association for public education about trans fats. Here is the plaintiff's press release, here is a related press release from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and here is the CSPI print advertisement about the controversy, entitled "A Broken McPromise."