Fast-food behemoth switching from cheese to less expensive vegetable oil: Maharashtra FDA
Maharashtra FDA cracks down on McDonald’s for using cheese substitutes, leading to suspension of an outlet. FDA commissioner plans to investigate other fast food chains. McDonald’s denies using substitutes.
MUMBAI: Maharashtra has cracked down on fast food giant McDonald’s, slamming it for a cheesy deception – using substitutes in burgers and nuggets instead of real cheese. It has suspended the license of a McDonald’s
outlet in Ahmednagar, prompting the chain to erase the word “cheese” from various items. FDA is pushing the chain to extend the corrective action state-wide & even nationally.
Cheese alternatives, or cheese analogues, are designed to replicate taste, texture, and functionality of traditional dairy cheese.
The substitutes, allegedly identified in several McDonald’s items, typically replace milk or dairy fat with cost-effective vegetable oil. The food regulator has accused McDonald’s of using cheese analogues without proper disclosure on food labels or on electronic display boards, thereby “misleading” people into thinking they are eating real cheese.
FDA commissioner Abhimanyu Kale told TOI the omission of such crucial details is outright misleading for consumers and could have health implications. “During inspection and our officers did not find any mention of cheese analogues anywhere. Items like ‘cheese nuggets’, ‘cheesy dip’, and ‘cheese burger’ were being labelled as such without indicating that the cheese was a substitute so he said. “Most other fast food pizza and burger joints could be indulging in the same practice. We plan to investigate these chains as well.”
