<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I am one of the CELIAC listowners.  In the FAQ for our list, it says:

   Note:  In the USA McDonald's french fries may not be safe
   because they are often cooked in the same oil as their has
   browns, which have wheat flour as a significant ingredient.

This information is out-of-date.  A few years ago, McDonald's changed
their hash brown ingredients so that their hash browns would be gluten
free.

My understanding is that McDonald's corporate policy is for their hash
browns and french fries to be cooked in separate oil from everything
else.  (This is done to ensure a consist and pleasing flavor, not for
our benefit.)  Therefore, if the local McDonald's restaurant is
following corporate policy, both their french fries and hash browns
should be gluten-free.  I would recommend that you check with each local
McDonald's before ordering their fries to make sure they've followed
this policy.

All of the above is based on information I've gotten from the CELIAC
list in the past year.  If you search the archives for "McDonald" I'm
sure you can get the relevant posts.  (Go back to Jan 1998.)  At one
point there was quite a bit of discussion on this topic.

Burger King's "new" fries, which have been out for over a year, are also
gluten-free.  When they originally piloted the new fries they used a
different formulation that was not gluten-free; but then they changed
the formulation in part because of feedback they received from celiacs.
Bill Elkus, another CELIAC listowner, was instrumental in bringing this
about.  It was quite a positive step for celiacs and for this e-mail
list.  You can read Bill's posts about it in late 1997; in particular
his post on 12 Dec 1997 entitled "Burger King fries".

Wendy's fries are also gluten-free, according to previous posts to this
list.  Like McDonald's, both Burger King and Wendy's have corporate
policies to cook french fries in their own, separate oil, for the same
reason (flavor).  Their fries should also be gluten-free, so long as the
local restaurant is following policy and not cooking anything else in
the oil for the french fries.

In most sit-down restaurants the french fries are NOT gluten-free,
because they don't have dedicated fryers and cook them in the same oil
as breaded foods.

All of the above refers to restaurants in the USA.  I don't know if it
would be the same in other countries.

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|      Jim Lyles               Home: [log in to unmask]      |
| Holly, Michigan, USA    Work: [log in to unmask] |
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