Fast food companies announce 'healthy' changes

Denise Barratt quit fast food.

Noah, her first-grade son, helped her make up her mind. He watched an episode of The Simpsons, in which Lisa Simpson became a vegetarian. Noah decided that made McDonald’s no longer cool. Barratt agreed. For years, she had felt guilty about feeding her family unhealthy fare.

Fast food companies are responding to consumers, like the Barratts, who want healthy food. Taco Bell and Pizza Hut both announced Tuesday their decisions to drop artificial flavors and colors from their recipes.

But these changes are limited.

“The big food places already have their clientele,” said Barratt, who now works as a dietitian in Asheville, N.C., “They’re going because it’s a quick and easy choice and it’s a familiar choice.”

Brian Niccol, Taco Bell’s CEO, has promised changes in the recipes will not affect the traditional Taco Bell taste. For example, the company will remove “black pepper flavor” from its beef but use real black pepper instead.

Barratt says there are better ways for Taco Bell and Pizza Hut to preserve the health of their consumers. Portion sizes alone can be unhealthy. Eating one fast-food meal, like a double cheeseburger with bacon and sauce, provides all the calories you need for an entire day.

John Coupland, a professor of food science at Penn State University, said fast food companies should reduce the sodium in their food. Sodium sucks calcium from bones and can cause high blood pressure.

Coupland thinks the recent changes in Pizza Hut and Taco Bell are a surface polish. By reducing artificial ingredients, these big companies can compete with smaller stores, like Chipotle, that market themselves as a healthy alternative to fast food.

Barratt said fast food companies won’t make more than surface changes without pressure. Consumers who care about their health could boycott these stores: “If people don’t go then they will try to make it so they will go.”

But, that takes dedication. Many of Barratt’s clients eat fast food because it’s easy. They might not even know how to cook. They might need to pack a lunch or learn to make their own dinner.

“If someone isn’t ready then they won’t make the change,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.