Meat + Poultry - September 2016 - 10

BUSINESS NOTES

MCDONALD'S MODIFIES INGREDIENTS
McDonald's USA, Oak Brook, Illinois, is making changes
to ingredients that will impact nearly half the food on the
burger chain's menu.
The company will remove artificial preservatives
from some items including its Chicken McNuggets, pork
sausage patties, omelet-style eggs served on McGriddles,
Bagel and Biscuit breakfast sandwiches and the scrambled
eggs on breakfast platters also are now free of artificial
preservatives.
"More than ever, people care about their food - where
it comes from, what goes into it and how it's prepared,"
Mike Andres, president, McDonald's USA, said in a
statement. "We're making changes to ensure the food
we're proud of is food our customers love and feel good
eating, and we remain committed to our continuing food
journey at McDonald's."
Additionally, McDonald's will begin using buns that
don't contain high fructose corn syrup. This includes buns
used on Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, hamburgers and
cheeseburgers, Filet-O-Fish and McChicken sandwiches.
The company noted that its Artisan roll launched in 2015
never contained high fructose corn syrup.
"From our test kitchens to what we serve in our
restaurants, we're zeroing in on how to bring new flavors
and choices, some never seen before on our menu, to
customers across the country," said Chef Jessica Foust,
RDN, director of culinary innovation, McDonald's Corp.
"Our focus on culinary innovation at McDonald's is
essential as we continue to evolve."
In other McDonald's menu news, the company made
good on its commitment to only serve chicken not
treated with antibiotics important to human medicine
nearly a year ahead of schedule. The company set its
original deadline for March 2017. McDonald's credited "a
collaborative effort with its suppliers and farmers on a
large scale" for achieving the milestone ahead of schedule.
Now, every chicken item McDonald's serves is made from
chicken not treated with antibiotics important to human
medicine; although the company noted that farmers
still use ionophores, a class of antibiotics that are not
prescribed to people, to maintain healthy chicken flocks.
"I applaud efforts such as those undertaken by
McDonald's in close collaboration with its suppliers and
poultry farmers, to greatly reduce the use of medically
important antibiotics in its animal agricultural food supply
chain," said Dr. H. Morgan Scott, professor of epidemiology
in the Dept. of Veterinary Pathobiology at Texas A&M
Univ. "McDonald's and its suppliers have worked to
identify appropriate alternatives for sustaining broiler
flock health while implementing protocols to ensure that
animal welfare is not compromised. Sourcing decisions by
industry leaders such as McDonald's have great potential to

MEAT+ POULTRY | 09.16 | www.meatpoultry.com

positively influence appropriate antibiotic stewardship in
food animal sectors around the world."

WENDY'S SEEKS BALANCE
ACROSS MENU OFFERINGS
A bacon mozzarella cheeseburger, ghost pepper fries
and other limited-time offers at the Dublin, Ohiobased Wendy's Co. failed to perform to the company's
expectations in the recent quarter, said Todd Penegor,
president and CEO of the fast-food chain.
Net income in the second quarter ended July 3 was
$26,480,000, equal to 10 cents per share on the common
stock, down from $40,195,000, or 11 cents per share, in
the year-ago period. Adjusted EBITDA from continuing
operations declined 1.7 percent to $102,485,000 compared
with $104,286,000.
Revenues totaled $382,718,000, down 22 percent from
$489,534,000 the year before. The decline in revenues
resulted from the ownership of 361 fewer companyoperated restaurants at the end of the quarter compared
to the beginning of the year-ago quarter. Same-restaurant
sales at North America restaurants increased 0.4 percent
in the second quarter.
"This is our 14th consecutive quarter of positive
same-restaurant sales, which demonstrates the long-term
strength and relevance of our brand," Penegor said during
an Aug. 10 earnings call with financial analysts. "While our
second-quarter sales results came in lower than we had
anticipated, we have a strong and well balanced secondhalf marketing calendar that gives us confidence for the
rest of the year."
Penegor pointed to an industry-wide slowdown in
traffic to quick-service restaurants as a driver of weaker
results in the quarter.
"...traffic trends were improving throughout 2015, but
in Q1 of this year the trend reversed course, and Q2 saw
the downward trend continue," he said. "We believe there
are multiple drivers behind the recent slowdown, but the
most notable appears to be the continued gap between the
cost of eating at home and the cost of dining out, which is
now at its widest point since the recession.
"While the recent
shift in traffic trends is
not favorable, we view
this as a bump in the
road when looking at the
QSR industry's long-term
potential. QSR has
consistently grown traffic
share over the past 10
years, gaining over 4 share
points in that time. This
Wendy's Baconator

http://www.meatpoultry.com

Meat + Poultry - September 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meat + Poultry - September 2016