Romanian Consumer Protection fines McDonald's for misleading French fries TV commercial

After checking how McDonald's french fries are produced, the Consumer Protection Authority in Romania (ANPC) recently asked the Audiovisual watchdog to take measures against McDonald's TV commercial about its French fries for misleading advertising.

The commercial, named 'McDonald's fries remind you of your grandparents' features two pieces of information meant to deceive consumers. Firstly, it implies that the McDonald's fries are made of potatoes bought from the market, but, according to ANPC, the fries used by the fast food company are frozen and the list of ingredients also includes dextrose and stabilizers. Secondly, the commercial reminds of the traditional production method, but in reality, the production process for fast food fries is industrial-like, according to ANPC. The consumer protection also applied sanctions to McDonald's for the TV commercial and asked the audiovisual watchdog to do the same. The value of the fine was not announced. McDonald's runs 65 restaurants in Romania and posted a turnover of almost EUR 100 million in 2010, making it the biggest fast food operator in Romania. editor@romania-insider.com