- McDonalds sued for "deceptive promotion" to children in United States
By Antonis Christodoulou
A lawsuit against food giants McDonalds has been filed by a US consumer advocacy group for using “deceptive advertisements” to attract children to the company’s food stores.
The “Center for Science in the Public Interest” in California is accusing McDonalds for using the Happy Meal toys as a bait to lure children to get their parents to take them to their restaurants. The complaints claim that most Happy Meals deliver extremely high levels of fat, sodium and calories that are above the recommended levels for children under the age of eight years.
McDonald’s chief executive Jim Skinner said: “Our customers are competent and capable of making decisions, we are confident that parents understand and appreciate that Happy Meals are a fun treat, with quality, right-sized food choices for their children that can fit into a balanced diet”.
According to CSPI, Mcdonald’s brand loyalty is in “serious jeopardy” as CSPI blames the fast food giant of contributing to an epidemic of obesity in the United States, and that they use children as a weapon for families to choose McDonalds to go and eat 53 per cent of the time.
CSPI also believes that the Happy Meal promotional toy that is used to urge children to make their parents to buy McDonalds.
Stephen Gardner, the attorney representing US consumer advocacy CSPI said: “By choosing to thwart parental rights, McDonalds is engaged in a deliberate and deceptive attack on children”.
According to Mr. Gardner the lawsuit is not intended to damage McDonalds rather than the attorney’s fees and related costs, and asks for a judgement that will prevent the fast-food chain from resuming its advertisement of Happy Meals featuring toys to children in California which the lawsuit had been released.
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