McDonald’s Malta yesterday officially launched their new product packaging with the relevant nutritional information, helping customers to make the correct choices for a balanced and active lifestyle.

Maltese customers will be able to check the nutritional value of most of McDonald’s products through user-friendly information which will be available on tray-liners, product packaging and specially-designed leaflets available in all McDonald’s restaurants, explained Purchasing, Quality Assurance and Environment Manager for McDonald’s Italy, Luca Bollani.

McDonald’s marketing manager Joanna Ellis explained that the Nutrition Information Initiative is the result of a research process that focused on consumer awareness and comprehension of nutrition and nutrition information.

McDonald’s is the first restaurant to make use of the recently-established nutrition reference values, called Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA), said Mr Bollani.

The GDA information is established on a European level to avoid the need to make country-by-country calculations and is based on the strictest guidelines recommended in European countries as well as those of the World Health Organisation.

The GDA for key nutrients are measured against a daily energy guideline of 2,000 kilocalories for adults.

Ms Ellis explained that even menu items which form part of a Happy Meal have information that is based on a GDA of 1,600 calories, which is an appropriate value for children aged four to seven years.

Mr Bollani said that the information is shown in an icon and bar chart format.

“These provide clear and user-friendly information on the nutritional value of an item on the menu, and how it relates to daily nutrient guidelines,” he said.

The icons represent five elements: calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates and salt, added Mr Bollani. This initiative was launched to show that the nutritional information is available for everyone and to help people make conscious decisions towards a healthy lifestyle, said Mr Bollani.