March 9, 2002
Source: The New York Times
On March 9, 2002, The New York Times reported that "the McDonald's Corporation plans to issue an apology and pay $10 million to vegetarian and religious groups for using beef flavoring in its French fries. The action is part of a proposed settlement of lawsuits charging that the company misled consumers... According to a draft of the settlement, 60 percent of the payment would go to vegetarian groups, with the rest going to groups devoted to Hindus and Sikhs, children's nutrition and assistance, and kosher dietary practices... McDonald's would also pay an additional $4,000 to each of 12 plaintiffs in five separate lawsuits, which claimed McDonald's wrongly described the fries as vegetarian."