Submission to the Preventative Health Taskforce on the Discussion Paper
and Technical Reports on Obesity and Alcohol.
McDonald’s Restaurants Australia Ltd
January 2, 2009
Contact:
Kristene Mullen
VP/Director of Corporate Communications, McDonald’s Australia
Introduction
McDonald’s Australia commends the Preventative Health Taskforce on the
Discussion Paper and Technical Reports on Obesity and Alcohol and welcomes
the opportunity to make a submission.
McDonald’s Australia is a quick service restaurant company. As of January 2009
we have 782 McDonald’s restaurants across the country and employ more than
75,000 people in both restaurants and management offices.
We are a franchise operation with around two-thirds of the restaurants owned and
operated by Australian business men and women.
We understand that we have an important role to play in tackling the issue of
obesity in society. We are proud of the leading role we have played in the food
sector’s response to this challenge so far and are committed to continuing our
support.
We have matched words with actions in the food choices and information we offer
our customers, and the improvements we have made to the ingredients in our
food. We are also working hard to promote education about nutrition and
encourage more physical exercise.
Finally, we are committed to working with government and regulators to ensure
that the legislative framework finds a balance between protecting the consumer
and avoiding unnecessary regulation that fails to achieve the intended results and
stifles innovation and industry competition.
This submission sets out our contribution towards tackling this issue and
demonstrates our commitment to being part of the solution. We would welcome the
opportunity if appropriate to present in person our submission.
MCDONALD’S AUSTRALIA
Over the past five years we have introduced a series of landmark initiatives to our
menu and our food. We have expanded and changed our menu, we have revised our
recipes and cooking practices and we have encouraged our customers to think
carefully about their food choices,
On many occasions we have led McDonald’s globally in innovation for menu options
and restaurant design.
McDonald’s Australia is committed to the following
•
We do not advertise during C time. We are committed to only advertising our
food in the category of General and Adult viewing
•
We are committed to using any licensed characters and properties that
appear in our advertising to encourage activity and balanced food choices for
children, and to make food, such as fruit and vegetables, fun to eat;
•
When advertising to primary school aged children (under 12) on television or
print we will only advertise balanced food choices that fit within a child’s
nutrition needs
•
We will provide nutrition information to help parents and families make
informed food choices for their children either on packaging or in prominent
places in our Restaurants
As part of our commitment to being part of the solution McDonald’s Australia has
made some significant changes to the way we communicate our Happy Meal
Choices.
1) We have made a commitment not to advertise our burgers, fries and soft
drinks in our Happy Meal commercials.
2) We have reduced our toy advertising on television by 80 per cent.
3)
Our toy advertising represents 2.3 per cent of the total McDonald's Australia
media budget. This is down from 11.3% in 2007.
As you can see we have a genuine commitment to advertising appropriately and we
are committed to leading the way in our industry.
THE JOURNEY OVERVIEW AND OBESITY ISSUES
As at January 2009
2002 – Former McDonald’s CEO Guy Russo starts attending obesity forums and
meeting with key organisations including Diabetes Australia and the Obesity
Taskforce
____________________________________________________
February 2003 – Alternative Happy Meal is introduced. This consists of a toasted
cheese and tomato sandwich, sultanas and orange juice with less than 6 grams of fat
per serve
July 2003 – McDonald’s invited people across Australia to visit their local
McDonald’s and take a tour of the restaurant from the dining room through to the
kitchen as part of McDonald’s Open Doors day.
September 2003 – Salads Plus menu is introduced and includes 8 products with less
than 10 grams of fat per serve
September 2003 – McDonald’s Australia begins to consult with Accredited Practising
Dieticians at The Food Group Australia
November 2003 – Quickstart breakfast menu is introduced and includes breakfast
cereals, yoghurts, juices and fruit cups
____________________________________________________
March 2004 – First stage of nutrition labelling on packaging is introduced - a first for
the quick service restaurant industry
May 2004 – Recipe for buns is changed - they now contain no more than 5 per cent
sugar
May 2004 McDonald’s takes a stand at the annual national conference of the
Dieticians Association of Australia and sampled the Salads Plus menu
July 2004 – SaladsPlus menu is revised and the Real Fruit Smoothie and Lean Beef
Burger are added and improved recipes include reduced sugar Berrynice Yoghurt
Crunch and smaller sizes for muffins following consultation with The Food Group
Australia
September 2004 – A new liquid canola oil blend is introduced which contains no
cholesterol and is 75 per cent lower in saturated fat than the previous blend
November 2004 – Eight new concept restaurants located in the city of Sydney are
launched. By the end of 2006 around 590 restaurants are re-imaged across the
country
November 2004 – ‘Never Stop Playing’ Ronald McDonald advertisements are
launched to encourage children to keep active
____________________________________________________
May 2005 – New Deli Choices menu available nationally and includes seven toasted
rolls with premium fillings made to order. Three out of seven products contain less
than 10 grams of fat
May 2005 – McDonald’s has a stand at the annual national conference of the
Dieticians Association of Australia and sampled Deli Choices Rolls
May 2005 – McDonald’s exhibits at the General Practitioners Conference and
Exhibition in Sydney
October 2005 – Espresso Pronto is added to the menu making espresso coffee
available at front counter and in drive-thru
November 2005 – New Warm Chicken Salads are launched offering customers a
better choice of salad product
November 2005 - McDonald’s exhibits at the General Practitioners Conference and
Exhibition in Melbourne
____________________________________________________
May 2006 - McDonald’s sampled Tandoori Chicken Multigrain Deli Choices Rolls at
the annual national conference of the Dieticians Association of Australia
May 2006 – McDonald’s exhibits at the General Practitioners Conference and
Exhibition in Sydney
August 2006 – Enhanced nutrition labelling is introduced which includes percentage
daily intake (%DI) figures on packaging to demonstrate how food choices contribute
to recommended daily requirements
October 2006 – Next generation oil that is virtually free of trans fatty acids is
introduced
November 2006 – McDonald’s exhibits at the General Practitioners Conference and
Exhibition in Melbourne
____________________________________________________
January 2007 – Pasta Zoo Happy Meal is launched nationally providing an
alternative meal choice for children
February 2007 – Tick Approved Meals are launched nationally providing an easily
identifiable healthier option for customers
May 2007 – Multigrain Deli Choices Rolls with the Heart Foundation Tick are
introduced to the menu
May 2007 – For the first time McDonald’s hosts a breakfast session at the Dieticians
Association of Australia national conference – more than 250 people attended
July 2007 – For the first time, McDonald’s Australia involved its customers in its
marketing – asking them to come up with a name for a new home-style burger in an
online competition. The winning name was Backyard Burger.
September 2007 - Happy Meal Choices is introduced giving customers the
opportunity to choose their Happy Meal combination. New additions to the Happy
Meal Choices menu included the fruit bag, pop top 100 per cent apple juice and pop
top water
November 2007 – A new chicken menu consisting of a range of premium quality 100
per cent chicken breast fillet in strips, wraps and burgers is added to the menu
____________________________________________________
February 2008 – McDonald’s launches new cooking platform Made To Order which
allows food to be prepared after a customer has placed their order.
March 2008 – McCafe launches new and improved coffee blend
Further comments
McDonald’s prides itself on the food we serve to our customers and we are
committed to supporting Australian producers and manufacturers. Our first
preference is always to source produce from within Australia provided that our supply
standards are met. We use a very high proportion of locally sourced products and
ingredients with only about seven per cent of our needs imported from overseas.
In 2007 McDonald’s Australia purchased:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Buns – 400 million
OJ – 6.7 million litres
Potatoes – 92 million kilos
Chicken – 12 million kilos
Eggs – 70 million
Cheese – 6 million kilos
Milk – 28 million litres
Lettuce – 6 million kilos
Beef – 21 million kilos
Tomatoes – 1.2 million kilos
Fish – 1.2 million kilos
The standard of McDonald’s products in Australia has been recognised
internationally resulting in exporting success. We export $300 million worth of
Australian products annually including:
•
•
•
•
Beef – South East Asia, United States, Middle East and Japan
Lettuce – New Zealand and Asia
Shake and Sundae Mix - Asia
Butter – New Zealand
It’s important to understand that we shop we shop were you shop. Please find listed
below our most significant supply partners:
•
•
•
•
•
•
OSI - beef, chicken and fish
Keystone Foods - distribution and beef
Ingham Enterprises – chicken products
Simplot – Fries and Hash Browns
McCains – Fries and Hash Browns
Fresh Start Bakeries – Buns and Muffins
Our commitment also to nutritional labeling has led McDonald’s Australia to be the
first McDonalds in the world and in the quick service restaurant industry to introduce
nutritional labeling on our products. We do encourage other quick service
restaurants to follow our lead to make it easier for consumers to find out the nutrition
breakdown of their food and make informed choices that fit within a well-balanced
diet.
Conclusion
In conclusion we understand that we have an important role to play in tackling the
issue of obesity in society. This is why we have matched words with actions in the
food choices and information we offer our customers, and the improvements we have
made to the recipes of our menu products. We are also working hard with
communities across Australia to promote education about nutrition and to encourage
more physical exercise.
It is our view that the Taskforce’s proposal to considering introducing an advertising
ban of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods on free to air television and reducing or
removing such advertising in other media such as print, internet, radio, in-store and
via mobile phone, would be exactly that, regulation that would fail to achieve the
intended results and would stifle the very innovation that elsewhere in its report the
Taskforce desires the food industry to produce.
In its report the Taskforce acknowledges that the evidence remains extremely limited
on the effectiveness of advertising bans. It is our submission that in recommending
such an action to Government, the evidence first needs to be strong and the
likelihood of success, high.
Equally, it is not best practice to recommend courses of action where the evidence of
effectiveness is so low, and evidence clearly points to the likely outcomes often being
the reverse of those intended.
To examine this, the Foundation for Advertising Research (FAR) commissioned
Australian-specific research by Frontier Economics to look at the PHT proposals.
The report concludes that not only do advertising bans not work in practice, they also
carry the risk of increasing consumption and reduced innovation.
FAR has made a submission to the Taskforce on this very matter, and included the
Frontier Economics Research and associated papers.
McDonald’s Australia supports the submission.
In addition, we would like to direct the attention of the Taskforce to evidence of
countries which are now recording a slowdown, even a complete halt, in their
previously rising childhood and adult obesity rates, without resorting to advertising
bans.
Our nearest neighbour (and we suggest the country most like Australia in terms of
ethnic and societal makeup) New Zealand, is a case in point. The Ministry of Health
there last year released its research into the state of the nation’s health, and it clearly
shows a halt in the increase of both adult and childhood obesity rates.
The executive summary shows as follows:
Adult Body size. There was an increase in the prevalence of obesity for adults from
1997 to 2006/07, but the rate of increase appears to be slowing, with no
statistically significant increase from 2002/03 to 2006/07 for both men and
women. For Maori adults, there was no change in the prevalence of obesity from
1997 to 2006/07. In 2006/07 one in three adults (36.1%) were overweight and a
further one in four (26.5%) were obese.
Child Body size. Most New Zealand children aged 2−14 years (67.9%) had a body
mass index in the normal range. One in five children (20.9%) were overweight and a
further one in twelve (8.3%) were obese. From 2002 to 2006/07 there was no
change in the proportion of New Zealand school-aged children who were
obese.
The full report can be accessed at
http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/portrait-of-health
These results have been achieved by a comprehensive government/industry
voluntary partnership utilising many of the same proposals contained within the PHT
report but importantly, without advertising bans of the sort currently being proposed.
Rather, responsible and effective advertising rules and regulations have been arrived
at via the self-regulatory process, and through voluntary company commitments.
These voluntary commitments have proven effective because they are driven from
within, and provide companies with the incentive to innovate because they have
retained the ability to develop markets for their innovations through responsible
advertising.
It is McDonald’s Australia’s contention that the Frontier Economics report clearly
signals the risks of pursuing advertising bans as a method of dealing with obesity in
Australia, and that a better course of action would be to work with industry to come
up with voluntary guidelines which incentivise the innovation that can make a
difference to the health of our nation.
Peter Bush
Chief Executive Officer
McDonald’s Australia