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McDonald's, KFC accused of misleading public in India

April 3, 2012

India's Centre for Science and Environment has slapped a "junk rating" on QSRs McDonald's and KFC, as well as PepsiCo, Nestle's Maggi and others for "misleading the public."

According to the India Times, the New Delhi-based organization suggests stronger regulations and labeling rules for these food products.

The CSE conducted a study that showed products such as potato chips, burgers and noodles almost cover an entire daily recommendation of bad fat, salt and sugar in one serving. In all, 16 brands were tested.

PepsiCo, Nestle, McDonald's and KFC denied the allegations and said their products were trans fat free.

The CSE's director Sunita Narain said salt and sugar levels are just as big of a concern as trans fat, and lead to obesity and diabetes. She wants the companies to mandatorily provide information about their ingredients.

Additionally, the CSE claims that, despite McDonald's claim to the contrary, its Happy Meals contain 90 percent of a child's daily requirement of trans fat.

Rajesh Maini, corporate communications GM of McDonald's India (North & East), said the CSE study results are "most unusual" because the restaurant chain uses refined palm oil in which trans fats are so low that they are virtually undetectable.

"We will certainly be examining them closely to see how these unexpected results have been arrived at, what testing methods were used, and comparing them with our own in-house testing," he said.

Spokespeople from PepsiCo and Yum! Restaurants India, parent company of KFC, also denied the CSE report.

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