February 19,2006 | CHICAGO -- McDonald's Corp. faces at least three lawsuits claiming the fast-food giant misled the public after it acknowledged earlier this week its french fries contain milk and wheat ingredients.
Debra Moffatt of Lombard, Ill., seeks unspecified damages in a suit filed Friday in Chicago. Her attorney, Thomas Pakenas, said his client has celiac disease, which causes gastrointestinal symptoms set off by eating gluten, a protein found in wheat.
Jack Daly, McDonald's senior vice president, said in a statement the company had not reviewed the case yet and is testing its fries for gluten through a food allergy research program at the University of Nebraska.
Mark and Theresa Chimiak of Jupiter, Fla., sued Friday in Florida, claiming their 5-year-old daughter has an intolerance to gluten and became seriously ill after eating the fries. Nadia Sugich of Los Angeles sued Wednesday, saying she eats no animal products and would not have eaten the fries had she known they contained dairy ingredients.
McDonald's, based in Oak Brook, Ill., said Monday that wheat and dairy products are used to flavor its fries.
Before its acknowledgment Monday, the company had quietly added "Contains wheat and milk ingredients" to the french fries listing on its Web site.
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