Happier Meal? McDonald's nixing some unpalatable ingredients

NEW YORK -- McDonald's, which is trying to shake its image for serving processed junk food, said Monday it's eliminating some unpalatable ingredients from its most popular menu items.

That includes making Chicken McNuggets and other items without artificial preservatives, and removing high-fructose corn syrup from its burger buns. McDonald's did not respond when asked about which specific preservatives are being removed.

The changes come as the world's biggest burger chain fights to win back customers after three straight years of declining guest counts at its established U.S. locations. Major restaurant chains are scrambling to step up the image of their food as they face more competition from smaller rivals promising wholesome alternatives.

"Why go to the position of trying to defend them, if the consumer is saying, 'I prefer not to have that particular ingredient in my food'?" said Mike Andres, president of McDonald's U.S., during an event at the company's headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, about its "food journey."

How meaningful the changes are to customers remains to be seen.

Michael Jacobson, executive director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said the moves by McDonald's don't seem to address the big-picture problem with restaurant food -- the overabundance of calories.

For instance, he said swapping out high-fructose for sugar doesn't make burger buns any healthier.

In the past year and a half, McDonald's also has switched to butter from margarine for its Egg McMuffins and added kale and spinach to its salads. Its rivals have made changes as well.

Dunkin' Donuts, for instance, has promised to put more egg in its egg patty. The patty looks like a fried egg but is a composite of ingredients including egg whites, water, egg yolks and modified corn starch.

As part of its own push to remove artificial ingredients, Taco Bell has said it would switch to black pepper rather than "black pepper flavor" even as it continues trying to lure diners with indulgent concoctions and neon-colored drinks.

Subway has introduced a "rotisserie chicken" and "carved turkey" that have more texture and look more natural than its regular chicken strips and turkey. It's offering both versions to avoid alienating fans who might not want any changes.

But convincing people it serves wholesome food is particularly important for McDonald's, which long has courted families with its Happy Meals.

The company's sales in its flagship U.S. market have showed improvement, helped by the fanfare over the introduction of an all-day breakfast menu in October. In the most recent quarter, though, McDonald's said sales rose just 1.8 percent at established locations. That signaled any excitement from all-day Egg McMuffins already could be losing steam.

McDonald's had signaled tweaks to its menu were in store, telling investors during a presentation in late 2014 it was evaluating its cooking procedures and ingredients as part of its push to fix its struggling businesses.

"We need to think about our ingredient labels as being much smaller," Andres said at the time.

The company also said Monday it completed ahead of schedule its commitment to phase out chicken raised with antibiotics important to human medicine.

Reporters at the media event Monday also posted images of new items like "breakfast bowls" the company is testing. And a McDonald's chef demonstrated making Egg McMuffins with freshly cracked eggs -- a point the company has been trying to emphasize in advertising to convey the message it serves real food.