The French fries served by McDonald's China will not cause allergic reaction for they are made of 100 percent quality Shepody potatoes, and are free from additives, wheat, dairy products and trans-fatty acid, McDonald's China said in an email to People's Daily following its acknowledgement that French fries may cause allergic reaction in some customers.

A couple of days ago, McDonald's acknowledged its French fries containing wheat and dairy products may cause sensitivity reaction in some customers. Some media reports said "The trans-fatty acid will increase 30 percent in McDonald's French fries cooked in olive oil. This will increase the possibility to develop heart disease."

McDonald's China claimed the problems mentioned in the reports in international media are not the case in China.

McDonald's China stressed that French fries are cooked in palm oil in the Chinese mainland. McDonald's strictly adheres to China's guidelines for food safety and nutrition and laws and regulations for public health.

However, the PD journalist finds McDonald's China's announcement lacks necessary and sufficient evidences. McDonald's had attempted to adopt low fat production before, but the attempt was not successful. Officials with food and drug administration of Shanghai Municipality appealed that McDonald's ought to present enough evidences to customers to prove the French fries do not contain trans-fatty acid that harms people's health.

Trans-fatty acid, or butterine, is regarded as one cause of cholesterol problem and artery occlusion. It has been proven that excessive intake of trans-fatty acid will increase the risk to develop coronary heart disease.

By People's Daily Online