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Som Chivukula in New York
Fast-food chain McDonald's has issued a formal apology to Hindus and vegetarians over the alleged use of beef flavouring in their French fries, settling a year-long class action lawsuit.
It also agreed to pay $10 million to different organisations that promote vegetarianism.
"This is a new era for the fast-food industry and sets a new standard of disclosure," claimed Seattle-based attorney Harish Bharti, who filed the lawsuit. "Because of this lawsuit the food disclosure standards have been enhanced."
Despite the monetary settlement, Bharti is still sceptical whether McDonald's will pay.
"I'll get much better sleep if all the deserving organisations get paid. My hope is that the judge takes control rather than their lawyers deciding which organisations gets the money," he said.
"I'm kind of still losing sleep. The judge should appoint a court representative to oversee the distribution so that there is no bias or complaints from the organisations," he said.
McDonald's on its Web site said, "We regret we did not provide these customers with complete information, and we sincerely apologise for any hardship that these miscommunications have caused among Hindus, vegetarians and others."
"We should have done a better job in these areas and we're committed to doing a better job in the future."
Bharti has not yet been paid for his services, but expects a payment from McDonald's after the final approval on August 22.
"I haven't seen a single dime yet. After the final approval, I will file a petition before the court to have my fees paid by the defendant," he said. "This amount (not yet determined) will not be from the $10 million settlement."
Last month, Bharti also filed a lawsuit against the Dallas-based Pizza Hut alleging the company of using beef enzymes in the cheese used to top its 'veggie lover's' pizzas.
"It's way too early to discuss the case (in terms of settlement)," he said.
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