Judge makes shock ruling on whether McDonald’s is LYING about size of its Big Mac…as Burger King faces £4m Whopper claim
A JUDGE has made a shocking ruling on whether McDonald’s has been lying about the size of its Big Mac as Burger King faces similar £4million Whopper claims.
The iconic fast-food chain was accused of false advertising by customer Justin Chimienti after he deemed the popular burger to be smaller than it appeared in adverts.
He also made the same claim about a bourbon bacon cheeseburger served by fast food group Wendy’s.
But McDonald’s ultimately defeated the lawsuit against them accusing the chain of lying about their sizes.
US District Judge Hector Gonzalez, sitting in Brooklyn, found no proof the firms served smaller portions than advertised.
He said there was no evidence Mr Chimienti, of Suffolk County, New York, had even seen ads for the burgers he bought.
The ruling comes ahead of a separate £4million legal action over claims Burger King’s flagship Whopper looks larger on in-store menu boards than it is in reality.
Diners have accused Burger King of making the Whoppers appear “approximately 35% larger in size” and containing “more than double the meat than the actual burger” in photos on its in-store menu boards.
Customers in the proposed class action lawsuit also complained that the Burger King ads show ingredients that “overflow over the bun” with double the amount of meat than they actually receive on the sandwich.
According to the company’s website, the Whopper is made with a quarter pound of savory flame-grilled beef and topped with tangy pickles, ketchup, fresh tomatoes, crisp lettuce, and fresh onions.
Burger King insisted its burgers didn’t have to look “exactly like the picture”, but Miami District Judge Roy Altman said it should be left to a jury to decide.
Mr Chimienti also claimed McDonald’s and Wendy’s depicted undercooked patties because meat shrinks 25% when cooked.
His complaint quoted a food stylist who said she had worked for the firms and preferred rarer beef because fully cooked burgers looked “less appetising”.
But Judge Gonzalez said the chains’ efforts to make their fare look tasty was “no different than other companies’ use of visually appealing images to foster positive associations with their products”.
He said the fast food giants’ websites clearly provided “prominent, objective information” on the burgers’ weight and calorie
Gonzalez also said it is not misleading to depict fewer toppings than the plaintiff’s “personally preferred amount.”
McDonald’s is the largest fast food chain in the world with almost 37,000 outlets globally – with more than 1,400 located in the UK.
Wendy’s has launched 30 British branches and announced plans to open more in the UK by the end of this year.
It comes as Taco Bell is also in the stages of defending against a lawsuit in the Brooklyn court claiming it sold Crunchwraps and Mexican pizzas that contained half as much filling as advertised.
The lawsuit seeks at least £4million for Taco Bell customers who bought the items in New York state in the last three years.
Ben Michael, a criminal defense attorney in Austin, Texas, said the recent wave of inflation may have tempted companies to cut corners by cutting portion sizes.
“Unfortunately, many businesses make these changes without consulting their marketing department or updating their menus to represent new portion sizes and ingredients,” he told CBS.
“This leaves them open to the kinds of lawsuits we’ve been seeing more of.”