McDonald’s Drops Halal McNuggets from Menu

The chain had been selling them at two of its Michigan restaurants

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Mike Blake / REUTERS

Two McDonald’s restaurants in Dearborn, Michigan have decided to stop serving Halal Chicken McNuggets and Halal McChicken sandwiches after settling a lawusit this spring with a man who claimed that the items weren’t as halal as advertised. For food to be designated as halal it must adhere to Islamic law in both its procurement and preparation. The Detroit suburb, which has a population of 97,000, has a large community of Arab-American Muslims.

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A spokesman for McDonald’s said on Friday, “Those items have been discontinued as a result of our continued efforts to focus on our national core menu.” The two McDonald’s originally began offering the halal food items back in 2000.

In 2011, a lawsuit was filed after a customer claimed that non-halal food was being served in place of the halal food items. In some cases, it was reported that some employees were swapping the two food items by accident. Although a $700,000 settlement was originally reached in April — with $25,000 to going to the original claimant Ahmed Ahmed and the rest toward community organizations and legal fees — the two stores only pulled the plug on the controversial items last week.

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Though some customers expressed disappointment, others are glad that the fast-food franchise is no longer offering an option that frequently invited room for mistakes. “If you can’t get it right 100% of the time, then you’re doing a disservice to the community,” voiced lawyer and local resident Majed Moughni. “Stop it if you can’t guarantee it.”

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