How free really are 'Free Fruit Fridays'?

Responding to today's official launch by McDonald's of its 'Free Fruit Fridays’ in-store initiative, Malcolm Clark, co-ordinator of the Children's Food Campaign, said:

“We’re all for innovative ways of encouraging children to eat more fruit. But in this case we’re having a hard time seeing beyond McDonald’s marketing hype.  As with the previous fanfare  McDonald’s made over the introduction of Fruitizz, a supposedly healthier drink for children, all doesn’t seem as its cracked up to be. For how free really is ‘Free Fruit Fridays’, when you have to buy a Happy Meal to get it; and fruit bags are already offered as one of the Happy Meal options every day of the week?"

"Much better would be for McDonald’s to permanently include a portion of fruit or veg in every Happy Meal as standard; and further reduce the fat, salt and sugar in its burgers, fries and drinks. For it doesn’t matter how much extra fruit you eat, if the rest of your diet is full of junk!"

Notes:

1.On Free Fruit Fridays, McDonald's will hand out the free fruit bags as an addition to the Happy Meal.  McDonald’s has not revealed from its trials of this promotion whether there was a shift in the menu items chosen – ie. where more people chose to have the fries (rather than carrot sticks or fruit bag) as they knew they would be getting a (free) fruit bag anyway.

2.The menu currently states: “all Happy Meals are served with small fries or carrot sticks or fruit bag, small cold drink, and a toy”.  Thus you can choose fruit bags as an option with Happy Meals already.

3.McDonald’s states in its press release that on Free Fruit Fridays the fruit bags given away instore will account for 52% of all children’s fruit bags sold in UK (by any caterer or retailer) on that day. But this is a confusing statistic. Fruit doesn’t just exist ready cut into bite size pieces in bags. Children (and adults) eat fruit in many different forms – whole, dried, in desserts etc – so there are many other ways children can get their 5 a day.