MCD McDonalds Corp

By Julie Jargon 

OAK BROOK, Ill. -- McDonald's Corp. said Monday it will replace high-fructose corn syrup in its sandwich buns with sugar as part of an effort to simplify its ingredients and satisfy increasingly conscientious customers.

The fast-food giant is also rolling out Chicken McNuggets and some breakfast items free of artificial preservatives and said it has curbed the use of chicken raised with antibiotics a year earlier than planned.

Mike Andres, president of McDonald's U.S. operations, said what he described as a "sweeping change" will impact 50% of the menu. McDonald's is in the midst of an attempted turnaround designed to satisfy diners who have asked it to do away ingredients such as with high-fructose corn syrup, which some research suggests may cause weight gain and diabetes.

The burger behemoth is also racing to keep up with rivals who have been quicker to embrace the so-called clean-label movement. Food makers from General Mills Inc. to Yum Brands Inc.'s Taco Bell have begun stripping their products of ingredients that have made many customers wary.

Since taking over as chief executive last year, Steve Easterbrook has pushed McDonald's to improve its familiar product offering. McDonald's last year returned to its original Egg McMuffin recipe, which calls for butter instead of liquid margarine -- many consumers didn't really understand exactly what liquid margarine is, the company said.

The chain has pledged to make other changes aimed at showing its food is less processed than consumers may realize and more humanely sourced. McDonald's has run ads showing that its breakfast items are made with freshly cracked eggs and plans to stop using eggs from chickens raised in cages. McDonald's has also said it would serve hormone-free milk.

Once ubiquitous in products ranging from soda to ketchup, high-fructose corn syrup has fallen out of favor since scientists and consumer advocates identified a possible link between consumption of the compound and obesity and diabetes. Many food and beverage companies, including PepsiCo. Inc. and ketchup maker Kraft Heinz Co., have already removed the sweetener from products or introduced separate lines without it.

The chemical composition of the ingredient, derived from corn, is nearly identical to that of sugar, and it is unclear whether natural sugar is indeed healthier. Medical research has reached conflicting conclusions on whether the compound causes weight gain and other health problems.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2008 published a paper concluding that there is no such link. But a 2010 Princeton University study found that rats that consumed high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than rats that consumed table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

Whether the move will boost McDonald's business remains to be seen. After the Egg McMuffin was reformulated with simpler, more natural ingredients last September, its sales leapt by double digits. The launch of all-day breakfast a month later gave a lift to sales in the quarters that followed.

But interest appears to be waning. McDonald's sales slowed in the latest quarter.

Mr. Easterbrook said he expected demand for all-day breakfast to settle down after an initial boost, but that the company expects to get another lift in the fall, when it makes more breakfast items available all day.

Write to Julie Jargon at julie.jargon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 01, 2016 13:20 ET (17:20 GMT)

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