1.7 min. read
Fast Food brands get sued regularly over what I call ‘Goldilocks’ issues: Coffee too hot. Chips too cold. Buns too big. Servings to small. But now, McDonald’s is being sued over the shape of its McRib patty. Plaintiffs say it’s misleading and deceptive…
You can see clearly, in this glam shot, the raised ridges meant
to portray rib bones on the classic McRib patty…
Having exhausted all the obvious factors on which you could criticize a Fast Food menu item, plaint-iffs are suing McDonald’s, claiming the McRib patty’s ridges are misleading and deceptive.
A marginal claim?
US District Judge April Perry, seated in Chicago, McDonald’s home town, says the suit – originally files this past December – can go forward, even thought the company has argued that ‘no reasonable con-sumer could expect the McRib to contain rib meat’.
The issue of what kind of meat McRib does contain is also the crux of a second lawsuit lodged this past January. Both suits claim the pork in McRib patties is not actual rib meat. Which those seeking recompense say is, ‘an expensive cut known for its higher fat content and rich flavor’.
According to a recent Reuters dispatch: “Consumers said McDonald’s actual use of lower-grade pork products including shoulder, heart, tripe or stomach caused them to overpay for the McRib, one of its most expensive menu items.”
A chequered history
The McRib has had a chequered history – if you’re referring to the calendar pattern of its apperances and reappearances over the years. The sandwich first graced the McMenu back in 1981. But it was discontinued after a few years, because – though it had a hard core following – that cadre was a relatively small one.
Then, after years of whining, moaning and complaining, McD’s brought the McRib back for a limited time. And it was a sell-out success – on that basis. Now, the McRib comes back regularly but infre-quently as a limited-time featured menu item. And it has been relatively free of court-level criticism – until recently.
My take
I like the McRib. And I try to have at least one when it comes back for its here-this-week, gone-the-next appearances. I’ve never worried about what cuts of pork are in the patty. And I’ve always as-sumed it was actual pork muscle meat, not offal or organ meats. You could tell by the texture and colour when you bite into it.
But I don’t buy the plaintiffs’ claims that they were deceived by the rib-like protuberances on the top of the patty. If so… Why did they wait 45 years to complain?
~ Maggie J.