(Article) McDonalds Is Asked to Withdraw Fries Seasoning

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McDonalds Is Asked to Withdraw Fries Seasoning

Dec 9, 9:03 am ET

 

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The Hong Kong government has asked global fast

food chain McDonalds Corp to withdraw a seasoning for its french fried

potatoes because it could contain a banned artificial sweetener, a

spokeswoman said on Sunday.

 

The government said it had discovered that the label for the chain's

Honey BBQ seasoning mix listed the artificial sweetener stevioside,

which is banned in Hong Kong, as an ingredient.

 

The U.S. National Cancer Institute says on its Web site that the main

chemical in stevioside can be converted in a laboratory into a

substance that alters genes. Further study is needed to determine

whether the sweetener can cause cancer, it says.

 

" We are testing to see if it is a permitted sweetener or not. Legal

action would be considered subject to the results of the test, " a

spokeswoman for the Hong Kong food and environmental hygiene

department said.

 

McDonalds was not immediately available for comment but newspapers

said that the company had since stopped using the powder.

 

In 2001 McDonalds apologized in a dispute over the use of beef extract

in its french fries following legal action and protests from vegetarians.

 

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