McDonalds loses Heart tick and beat for healthy options

Via AAP

McDonald's will lose the right to display the National Heart Foundation's Tick on foods marketed as healthy options.

The fast food giant pays about $300,000 a year so it can put the trademarked Tick next to fish burgers, salads and chicken wraps. 

But the Heart Foundation has told McDonald's it is removing the company's right to use the Tick, which has been used to promote its foods during the past five years, News Ltd reports.

A number of smaller takeaway chains, including gourmet pizza group Crust, will also lose the Tick, but the symbol will remain on supermarket foods.

The foundation's chief executive Lyn Roberts said the move was not a criticism of McDonald's but a change in direction to concentrate on ingredients delivered to restaurants and food outlets. 

The foundation also plans to announce a new plan to conduct random tests on restaurant and takeaway food for levels of saturated fat and salt.

What does this mean for you as a consumer? I know that I never went to McDonalds with the hope of eating something healthy – I went for the French Fries, Cheeseburger and McNuggets!

I barely go to the fast food chain, but at least they offered something that was deemed healthy so that people who wanted to the option of choosing something that was better for them, could do so.

What are your thoughts regarding this? Are you surprised that the ‘tick’ has been taken away? Did you or anyone you know actually choose the healthy options offered on the McDonald’s menu?

Let me know!