Two years ago this month, the suits at McDonald's slapped on their best Ronald grin and announced they would be reducing the amount of heart-disease-causing, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil used to cook their fries. "America's favourite French fries are about to get even better," claimed a September 2002 press release. Two years later, there's been a trans fat reduction of exactly zero per cent, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based nutrition advocacy group, is calling the fast food giant on their "broken McPromise."

"Trans fat causes tens of thousands of heart-disease deaths each year," the CSPI pointed out in a full-page New York Times ad. "So why did McDonald's break its promise to eliminate trans fat from its cooking oil?"

If McDonald's has no answer for the CSPI, perhaps they'll have one for the courts. A California group, BanTransFats (www.bantransfat.com), has sued McDonald's for false advertising on their oil change.

» Scott Saxon