Chicago Tribune Article/McD's Fries

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This is in today's Chicago Tribune:

Mc's news fries parents of allergic kids

By Bonnie Rubin

Tribune staff reporter

Published February 15, 2006

When a neighbor told Garmit Kaur that Mc's had listed wheat--a

taboo for her two children with food allergies--as an ingredient in

its french fries, she flat-out didn't believe it.

" I was shocked when I checked the Web site this morning, " said the

Elmhurst mother. " I thought, that cannot be right because I'm very

careful ... and it wasn't there a couple months ago. "

But there was no mistake. At the end of a long list of ingredients--

including partially hydrogenated soybean oil and dextrose--was the

single offending line: " Contains wheat and milk ingredients. "

To parents like Kaur, french fries had been one of the few " safe "

items on fast-food menus. But on Monday, Mc's acknowledged

that a flavoring agent in the cooking oil used to make fries is

derived from wheat and dairy ingredients, which can be off-limits to

people with food allergies.

Still, physicians say there is no need to set off alarm bells yet.

The disclosure doesn't automatically put Mc's fries on the

forbidden list, according to Dr. Stefano Guandalini, a pediatric

gastroenterologist with the University of Chicago's Celiac Disease

Program. The disease, which affects 3 million Americans, interferes

with the absorption of nutrients and is triggered by consumption of

gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.

" When you process the ingredients such as wheat in order to derive

flavoring, you leave the gluten behind, " Guandalini explained,

comparing it to vinegar, another product from grains that are

neutralized by the distillation process. " We have never found any

evidence that eating french fries is a problem. "

The wheat and dairy disclosure, coming less than a week after

Mc's acknowledged its fries contain more trans fat than

previously reported, was a consequence of a new Food and Drug

Administration labeling rule that went into effect in January.

The rule requires the packaged-foods industry to report all common

allergens, such as milk, eggs, wheat, fish, shellfish and peanuts.

As a restaurant operator, Mc's does not have to comply but is

doing so voluntarily.

A manufacturer with a food product that is essentially gluten-free

can apply for an exemption to resolve the confusion, according to

Melin-Rogovin, executive director of the U. of C. celiac

disease program.

Mc's says it is " committed to transparency " about its menu and

the nutrition information it provides customers. " It's important to

note that the oil, cooking process and ingredients in our french

fries have not changed, " said Whitman, spokesman for the

Oakbrook-based company.

Still, some people weren't taking any chances. The news ricocheted

around the food allergy community, lighting up Internet message

boards and unleashing a flurry of calls from parents who already

feel as if they're tip-toeing through a minefield when it comes to

policing their kids' diets. For some children, even a minute amount

of an allergen can turn a birthday party, field trip or sleepover

into an event freighted with anxiety.

" My e-mail first started going crazy Monday afternoon, " said Sueson

Vess of Wheaton, who runs a Web site for people who must follow a

gluten and dairy-free diet, www.specialeats.com.

" It's very confusing. ... Just when you think you have the most up-

to-date information, things change. It's like trying to nail Jell-O

to the wall, " she said.

It's not enough to merely take the bun off the hamburger, she said,

because the mere contact of wheat with the patty can be enough to

cause some distressing symptoms, ranging from hives to wheezing to

gastrointestinal complications.

" I'm just so disappointed, " said Ann Lukas of Homer Glen, who

has two daughters with celiac disease. " When they go out with

friends, no matter what town they're in ... they can always go to

the Golden Arches. Now what are they going to eat? The boxes? This

leaves the hamburger, lettuce, tomato and some of the condiments. "

Kaur, on the other hand, is taking a wait-and-see approach.

" This is something my kids will have to deal with the rest of their

lives, " she said. " You can't react to everything. ... If you do, it

will just make you crazy. "

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C