McDonald's Canada has reduced sodium in all of its menu items featuring grilled chicken, cutting the sodium level of those products by as much as 32 percent. The move is part of McDonald's Canada's voluntary commitment to the Canadian Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CCFBAI) regarding the nutritional value of meal choices featured in advertising directed to this demographic.
"Part of the enduring appeal of McDonald's is that we have continuously evolved our menu to meet the needs of our customers," said Richard Ellis, senior vice president, communications and public affairs at McDonald's Canada, in a news release. "We believe that working collaboratively with industry and health experts to make incremental changes in reducing dietary sodium intake is an important part of our ongoing efforts to promote a holistic approach to nutrition."
The company was able to reduce the sodium level in its Chicken Snack Wrap with Grilled Chicken by nearly one-third to 530 mg by using a sodium-reduced tortilla, chicken and ranch sauce. Most of the reductions are not that dramatic, with cuts of 13 percent for the Breakfast Burrito (now 700 mg) to 20 percent for the Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich (now 810 mg).
McDonald's Canada is couching its sodium-reduced products in an announcement that it has added the Grilled Chicken Snack Wrap as an option for its Happy Meals. The wrap consists of a half-portion of grilled chicken made with 100 percent seasoned chicken breast, shredded Monterey Jack, light cheddar cheese and shredded lettuce with ranch sauce in a soft tortilla. For children, that means the wrap alone would provide nearly half the recommended level of sodium intake of 1,200 mg in Canada for children ages 4-8.
Most of the chicken menu items now contain at least 640 mg of sodium, topping out at 1050 mg for the Southwest Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich. Leading U.S. health authorities, including the American Heart Association, recommend a daily intake of 2,400 mg of sodium per day.
Like the United States, health organizations in Canada are concerned about the dangers of high sodium consumption. The Canadian government has appointed a task force — which includes representation from the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association — to develop a sodium-level reduction plan.
In the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is preparing to take action on recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine to reduce sodium intake. At the same time, New York City health department has formed the National Salt Reduction Initiative, a public-private partnership launched in January to reduce Americans' salt consumption by 20 percent over five years.
A spokeswoman for McDonald's Canada said the sodium reduction of its chicken products is solely an action for that market and not a systemwide initiative. McDonald's USA said in a statement that the company continues to evaluate its menu as it remains committed to evolve its choices to meet customers' needs. McDonald's USA also continues to engage in the sodium dialogue with U.S. industry and regulatory organizations:
We support a collaborative, science-based, transparent approach to sodium reduction at the federal level. We will continue to evaluate our efforts against the Institute of Medicine's Recommendations on Salt and Sodium and the USDHHS and USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010.
McDonald's USA has made a number of improvements in the better-for-you category as well, including:
- Increased focus on fruit, such as 100 percent fruit juice, Apple Dippers, fruit yogurt parfait and a fruit and walnut salad
- Added the snack wrap line
- Reduced the number of calories in kids' meals by almost half
- Moved to 100 percent white meat chicken for its McNuggets
- Switched to 1 percent milk
- Testing a fruit and apple oatmeal with 280 calories and lower fat and sodium
Other McDonald's markets have made strides toward healthier products in recent years. McDonald's New Zealand recently paired with Weight Watchers in that country to designate several menu items as weight-loss friendly using the organization's point system.
