14 DAY TRIAL // McDonald's face at least three lawsuits after they confirmed the fries contain milk and a wheat protein.
Mark and Theresa Chimiak are suing the company because of their daughter's intolerance to gluten, a substance found in wheat, contained in the fries, a thing which they were unaware of when the parents served their daughter with the product.
The lawyer declared that the family checked with the company before serving their daughter the French fries. Until now, for people like the Chimiaks, these fries were one of the few foods safe for the children on the menu. All this until this week McDonald's declared that the oil in which the fries are cooked is derived from wheat and dairy, forbidden for those with food allergies.
Annalise, the daughter of the family mentioned above, became ill with celiac disease, suffering from epileptic seizures and ulcer, all these triggered by gluten. Jack Daly, senior vice president of McDonald's Corp., declared on Friday that they did not have time to review the case, but that the fries will be tested at an allergy research center.
The company also stated that wheat and dairy, ingredients which can cause allergies in consumers sensitive to different foods, are used to flavor the fries. McDonald's added to the ingredients listed on its website "Contains wheat and milk ingredients", after new rules from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
A spokesperson for the company declared that the ingredients were previously removed, but the flavoring constituent in the cooking oil is derived from wheat and dairy. Following the damages requested by the Chimiak family, Nadia Sugich also sued the company on the grounds that she is a vegetarian and ate the fries unaware that they were not vegan.
Also, in previous settlements, McDonald's paid $10 million dollars to a vegetarian organization because the oil in which the fries were cooked was beef flavored.