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Life

16th Feb 2018

Cheeseburgers will NOT be removed from McDonald’s Happy Meals in Ireland

Dave Hanratty

McDonald's

Crisis averted.

The classic McDonald’s cheeseburger is set to become a by-request-only item in Happy Meals in the US, in a bid to improve the nutritional values of the long-running children’s favourite.

The fast-food juggernaut announced this week that all Happy Meals Stateside will cut down on calories, fat and salt, offering “more balanced” options in 120 different markets around the world.

Further changes to the menu include reducing the portion of fries with the six-piece Chicken McNuggets meal, and cutting down on the amount of added sugar in chocolate milk, with bottled water newly pictured as a featured option (as seen above) on the Happy Meal menu.

As for Ireland, a spokesperson for McDonald’s has confirmed to JOE that McDonald’s outlets nationwide will not be removing cheeseburgers and such from Happy Meals, as the announced changes will not impact the Irish menu.

“We take our responsibility to families very seriously and in Ireland we have, for a long time, been committed to evolving our Happy Meal menu to keep in step with what parents want,” begins the official statement issued to JOE on Friday.

“We have pioneered an extensive salt and sugar reduction programme and there is also an increased choice of Happy Meal combinations, including low fat Irish milk and mineral water at no extra cost.

“Mums and dads can swap fries for carrot sticks or a fruit bag. And not only can you choose these as a side whenever you buy a Happy Meal, you can also always add on a fruit bag to the meal for only 50c.”

So there you have it. Panic over.