McDonald's counts the calories

McDonald's is trying to shed its junk food image by giving customers more nutritional information about what they are eating.

The fast food giant plans to print a calorie count on the packaging of its products and on posters in its restaurants.

And, while the favourite Big Mac and fries will stay on the menu, there will be a range of low-fat, low-calorie meals on offer to encourage healthier eating.

McDonald's knows burgers and fries are linked in the minds of parents with concerns that children on both sides of the Atlantic are becoming more obese.

The world's biggest restaurant chain has already responded by using more natural foods - for example, free-range eggs and organic milk - in Britain.

It has also introduced promotional salads, lower-fat sauces and has changed its cooking oils to reduce the saturated fat.

And the 493-calorie Big Mac now has a leaner rival - the Steak Premiere, which has 454 calories and around 40 per cent less fat at 14.1g compared to 22.9g

A McDonald's spokesman said the menu changes were 'driven by customer demand' following research in the market place.

He added: 'There will always be a place for existing core items such as the everpopular Big Mac. But as tastes and expectations change, so will the menu at McDonald's.' To help in the battle of the bulge, the chain has already replaced lard in burger buns with a smaller quantity of vegetable oil, and a low- calorie sweetener is available on request.

'The formulation of sandwich sauces has also been improved to reduce oil levels,' added the spokesman.

A marketing campaign will launch the range of low-fat products later this year.

As customers become more calorie-conscious, Burger King and Wimpy are also offering salads and lower-fat burgers.

BK's Chicken Whopper Lite has 289 calories and 7.5g fat, less than half the calories and just 20 per cent of the fat in its beef Whopper. Wimpy's Lean-Burger is advertised as '90 per cent fat free' and boasts it has fewer calories (330) and fat than popular sandwich fillings such as cheese and tomato (587 calories) and tuna and sweetcorn (440).

Wimpy marketing chief Clare Starling said: 'We have a responsibility to provide a varied menu with healthier alternatives for those who are counting the calories.'

McDonald's recently revealed a deficit of £211million for the final three months of 2002 - the first ever loss in its 47-year history.

At the same time, it announced plans to close some 600 restaurants - some of them in city and town centres in Britain. However, the company will be opening around 800 new outlets, including 44 in the UK.

McDonald's has suffered from a fierce price war in the U.S., while takings in Britain have been hit by the downturn in tourism.

In America, sandwich chains such as Subway have grabbed a huge slice of the fast food market. The brand is to undergo a major expansion here.

In Britain, the success of chains such as Pret-a-Manger, now part- owned by McDonald's, have also had an impact on burger sales.