McDonald's Beef Safety Fact Sheet for Reporters

' ... No impact on sales'

We are sending you the attached McDonald's information. We hope it is useful to you.

Because many have asked what we are seeing thus far at our restaurants, we can report that as of today, December 27th, there has been no impact on sales.

Of course we've been watching not just the volume of our sales but the specific McDonald's products being sold and we've noticed no reduction in the beef product being purchased. We continue to monitor the situation closely.

   Walt Riker
   Vice President
   McDonald's Corporate Communications & Media Relations

For those covering the BSE story, we appreciate that many of the aspects of this beef supply issue are complex and technical.

Therefore, we want to provide you with some background information regarding McDonald's longtime beef safety standards. McDonald's supply chain management, based on decades of experience, deep global resources, and industry-leading compliance and safety standards, continues to provide leadership at every level of our food supply chain.

While the situation in Washington state has no connection whatsoever to McDonald's or its suppliers, we understand your interest in this developing news story, and we want to outline McDonald's long-time practices that continue to ensure the safety of our products.

These are long-standing, rigorous policies that our suppliers are required to follow. These policies meet, or exceed all government requirements, and have been reviewed by our International Scientific Advisory Council on BSE, made up of renowned experts in this field. They provide guidance on industry practices and McDonald's system initiatives.

McDonald's Beef Safety Fact Sheet

  1.  McDonald's Prohibits Specific Risk Materials (SRM): McDonald's has
      long-standing, rigorous controls for our suppliers that require the
      strict segregation of all Specific Risk Materials (SRM) in the
      production plants where we do business. McDonald's has never allowed
      the use of SRMs.

  2.  McDonald's Prohibits the Use of AMR (Advanced Meat Recovery):
      McDonald's has never permitted the use of AMR in our beef supply
      system, and never will.

  3.  McDonald's Prohibits "Downers": McDonald's does not allow the use of
      "downer" cattle.

  4.  McDonald's Demands Feed Grain Certification for All Suppliers:
      In 2001, McDonald's created and implemented a stringent feed grain
      certification program that requires signed affidavits from our
      suppliers that verify that their animals have been fed in 100%
      compliance with federal guidelines. This requirement ensures that
      cattle in McDonald's supply chain are fed with only safe and wholesome
      feed -- in compliance with the feed ban implemented in 1997 by the
      USDA.

  5.  McDonald's Requires Independent Audits for All Supplier Facilities:
      McDonald's conducts regular, independent, third-party audits of
      McDonald's supplier facilities, including unannounced audits. These
      comprehensive audits safeguard that the strict policies above have
      been adhered to throughout the supply chain process.

  If you have further questions, please contact:

   Lisa Howard
   McDonald's Corporation
   Office:   630-623-5044
   Cell:     630-408-1873

PRNewswire -- Dec. 27

SOURCE: McDonald's Corporation

Web site: http://www.mcdonalds.com/