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Changes coming to McDonald’s Happy Meals to improve nutrition

Posted at 5:20 AM, Feb 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-15 05:20:56-05

CHICAGO — The cheeseburger will disappear from McDonald’s Happy Meals menu, but it will still be available. That’s one of the changes McDonald’s will be making to offer more nutritious food for kids.

The most visible change will be the absence of the cheeseburger from the Happy Meals menu, though the company says in its statement that customers will be able to ask for it. And until the company completes reformulating its chocolate milk to reduce added sugar, chocolate milk will not be listed on the Happy Meal menu, but, again, customers can ask for it.

The company called its initiative part of “an expanded commitment to families” that includes improvement of the nutrition in its Happy Meals. One goal is that at least half of Happy Meals offered in each market meet “new Global Happy Meal Nutrition Criteria of less than or equal to 600 calories; 10 percent of calories from saturated fat; 650 mg sodium; and 10 percent of calories from added sugar,” the statement said.

Restaurant menus will only display hamburgers and Chicken McNuggets as Happy Meal options. “The Cheeseburger will only be available at a customer’s request,” the company said.

The amount of french fries will also be reduced one of the Chicken McNugget meals, and bottled water will be added as a drink option.

Five years ago, McDonald’s removed soda from the Happy Meals menu, though customers could always ask for it. The company said the number of Happy Meals ordered with water, milk or juice jumped by 14 percentage points.