McDonald’s has been caught underselling portions of French fries at branches across the UK, a new investigation can reveal.
A survey conducted for new Channel 5 show Shop Smart Save Money found that on nearly two out of three occasions, customers were given a smaller portion than they had paid for.
It’s thought that customers are paying the equivalent of £33 million a year for fries they never receive at McDonald’s.
Twenty-nine out of 45 portions tested at branches in five major UK cities were found to weigh less than the recommended portion size listed in McDonald’s own training manual, according to the survey.
McDonald’s has been found to undersell portions of fries at some branches in the UK, according to a new investigation
The fast food chain, which confirmed the approximate weights of the portions sold to researchers from the True North production company, defended the practice.
A spokesman said in a statement: ‘Our portion sizes are approximate and we have strict operational procedures in place to ensure that our fry portions are adequately filled.
‘We’d encourage any customer who is not happy with the service they receive to speak to a member of the crew whilst in the restaurant who will be able to assist them.’
Shop Smart Save Money’s reporter Alexis Conran argues that approximate weights should mean that customers receive an even split of portions that are both underweight and overweight.
But the investigation revealed that 64 per cent of the portions served to researchers were under the recommended weight.
McDonald’s sold smaller portions of fries than its own training manual recommends nearly two out of three times at the branches the production team visited
If the results of the study were replicated nationwide in more than 1,200 McDonald’s restaurants across the country, customers would be paying for the equivalent of £91,538.20 worth of medium French fries that they never receive.
This works out at £33 million worth of fries a year.
Edinburgh and Birmingham were found to undersell fries the most, with seven out of nine portions of chips being under the recommended weight.
London undersold six out of nine times, Cardiff five, and Manchester was the best, with four out of nine portions being under the recommended portion size weight.
The production team conducted the experiment by placing 45 portions of fries in sealable plastic bags to retain their moisture which ensured an accurate measurement.
Team members travelled to London, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Edinburgh on the same day and in each city bought small, medium and large portions of fries from three different McDonald’s restaurants in each city.
The team have said that even taking into account that some portions exceeded the weight guidelines at McDonald’s, they estimate that they paid for two medium portions worth of chips that they did not receive.
Mr Conran said: ‘McDonald’s say their fries sizes are approximate, so surely you’d expect to get a 50/50 split of “under” and “over” weight portions wouldn’t you?
‘But that’s not what our sampling found – particularly with large portions where 13 of our 15 samples were under the given weight. Maybe McDonald’s should get some bigger scoops.’
The first episode of Shop Smart Save Money airs on Channel 5 on Wednesday, June 6 at 8pm.