Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation accused McDonald's of exploiting children's naïvety through its child-targeted marketing.
Morgan Spurlock's film Super Size Me chronicled his weight gain and health deterioration after living exclusively on McDonald's for 30 days.
And now even Prince Charles has had a go at the 52-year-old fast food chain, saying during a visit to the United Arab Emirates that they should try to ban it.
But is the perception keeping up with the reality?
After the film, McDonald's phased out its super sizes and it has added a considerable number of healthier options like salads and juices - as well as premium coffee. Nutritional information is provided on the packaging of its menu items and a booklet suggests menu options of less than 400 calories.
The impact was drastic. A number of people set out to challenge Mr Spurlock's conclusions, eating the healthy options now available, and actually lost weight after 30 days.
The company is also trying to change the image of its outlets and has embarked on an ambitious upgrading programme. Since 2003, half the 13,700 US stores have been re-modelled. The revamped stores are a far cry from the plastic-dominated burger joints of the past, with stylish furniture, pendant-shaped light fittings, dark wood panelling and large tables with high-back chairs. There will be "linger" zones with sofas, a "grab and go" zone with counters and bar stools and a "flexible" zone with booths for families.
In Malta, Plaza will lead the way, with the work expected to be done in the second quarter, according to Melo Hili, the managing director of First Foods Franchises Ltd, the 75 per cent subsidiary of the Hili Group that holds the McDonald's franchise.
Mr Hili declined to say how much would be spent on its eight outlets although international estimates are that each outlet will cost around Lm100,000.
There are about eight or nine different designs that can be used and they all vary in cost, he said.
"Restaurants in Valletta, for example, would be done up in a different way to the one in Bugibba."
Another change is the introduction of the McCafé brand, the first local one opening recently in Gozo.
"The scope is different: It is not aimed at someone who needs to be served quickly but for those who want to relax. The place itself looks quite different and the products are completely different. We are trying to attract different people at different times of the day," Mr Hili said.
"We opted for Gozo because there was already a sort of McCafé concept, although not as developed as it is now. We thought it would be the best place to try it out. We will eventually open McCafé's in Malta. There are a number of existing restaurants where the concept could fit in."
The age range of McDonald's clients is much wider than one would assume. There are obviously children, teenagers and families but even the older generation features, he said. In the future, the company plans to reduce noise levels, especially for the latter group.
"For example, at present our staff call out when an order is ready. We are now planning to introduce screens to show the information."
With the number of outlets static at eight for some years, the time has also come to expand. Mr Hili said that there was clearly room for an outlet in the south, which at present is only served by the airport outlet.
"We are also talking to Pavi supermarket in Qormi about setting up an outlet there," he said.
The local outlets have introduced all the healthy options such as salads and fruit cups and have noted a shift away from burgers.
"Burgers remain the mainstay but the sales of other products is growing. The introduction of the Salads Plus range doubled sales of salads," he said.
"More salads will be introduced later this year, such as a caprese and a tuna salad. We are also offering a side salad instead of fries. For children, we have juices and an apple puree that they can have instead of a soft drink. We are also looking at fruit bags of apples and grapes."
First Foods Franchises currently employs about 450 people, a number that increases by 250 in summer. Of these, 160 are full-time employees. Annual recruitment day, attracting hundreds of hopefuls, will be held next weekend. McDonald's also recently introduced a McPassport, which enables trained crew to get work in any other outlet in the EU. As a major employer, the company in Malta also has a well-established programme of corporate social responsibility. It sponsors a number of sports events and clubs. It also does a considerable amount of charity work, not all of which is publicised.
"Over a period of time, we are reducing what we spend on advertising and will spend more on sponsorship," he said.
McHealthier
McDonald's Malta launched a booklet last January explaining the nutritional aspects of its menu items, and what proportion of daily amounts each one accounts for.
The booklet gives ways to make McMeals healthier: you get 63 per cent of your recommended daily fat intake from a Big Mac with medium fries and a Coca-Cola, reduced to 39 per cent by replacing the fries with a salad with balsamic dressing and the soft drink with water.
A grilled chicken Caesar salad with dressing but no croutons, and with a medium diet Coke has only 245kcal. Without the drink, it has 13 per cent of your daily fat.
Find the complete nutritional breakdown of its products on: http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.index1.html. The highest calorie items are the deluxe breakfast (1,280kcal) and the chocolate triple thick shake (1,160kcal).
Did you know?
• Over 40 million visitors eat at McDonald's around the world every day.
• Each outlet has 72 daily safety checks carried out.
• McDonald's 30,000 restaurants served 193 million kilograms of vegetables and 82 million kilograms of fruit in 2005.
• McDonald's is one of the world's largest employers, with a workforce of over one million.
• 70 per cent of its managers started as crew.
Morgan Spurlock's film Super Size Me chronicled his weight gain and health deterioration after living exclusively on McDonald's for 30 days.
And now even Prince Charles has had a go at the 52-year-old fast food chain, saying during a visit to the United Arab Emirates that they should try to ban it.
But is the perception keeping up with the reality?
After the film, McDonald's phased out its super sizes and it has added a considerable number of healthier options like salads and juices - as well as premium coffee. Nutritional information is provided on the packaging of its menu items and a booklet suggests menu options of less than 400 calories.
The impact was drastic. A number of people set out to challenge Mr Spurlock's conclusions, eating the healthy options now available, and actually lost weight after 30 days.
The company is also trying to change the image of its outlets and has embarked on an ambitious upgrading programme. Since 2003, half the 13,700 US stores have been re-modelled. The revamped stores are a far cry from the plastic-dominated burger joints of the past, with stylish furniture, pendant-shaped light fittings, dark wood panelling and large tables with high-back chairs. There will be "linger" zones with sofas, a "grab and go" zone with counters and bar stools and a "flexible" zone with booths for families.
In Malta, Plaza will lead the way, with the work expected to be done in the second quarter, according to Melo Hili, the managing director of First Foods Franchises Ltd, the 75 per cent subsidiary of the Hili Group that holds the McDonald's franchise.
Mr Hili declined to say how much would be spent on its eight outlets although international estimates are that each outlet will cost around Lm100,000.
There are about eight or nine different designs that can be used and they all vary in cost, he said.
"Restaurants in Valletta, for example, would be done up in a different way to the one in Bugibba."
Another change is the introduction of the McCafé brand, the first local one opening recently in Gozo.
"The scope is different: It is not aimed at someone who needs to be served quickly but for those who want to relax. The place itself looks quite different and the products are completely different. We are trying to attract different people at different times of the day," Mr Hili said.
"We opted for Gozo because there was already a sort of McCafé concept, although not as developed as it is now. We thought it would be the best place to try it out. We will eventually open McCafé's in Malta. There are a number of existing restaurants where the concept could fit in."
The age range of McDonald's clients is much wider than one would assume. There are obviously children, teenagers and families but even the older generation features, he said. In the future, the company plans to reduce noise levels, especially for the latter group.
"For example, at present our staff call out when an order is ready. We are now planning to introduce screens to show the information."
With the number of outlets static at eight for some years, the time has also come to expand. Mr Hili said that there was clearly room for an outlet in the south, which at present is only served by the airport outlet.
"We are also talking to Pavi supermarket in Qormi about setting up an outlet there," he said.
The local outlets have introduced all the healthy options such as salads and fruit cups and have noted a shift away from burgers.
"Burgers remain the mainstay but the sales of other products is growing. The introduction of the Salads Plus range doubled sales of salads," he said.
"More salads will be introduced later this year, such as a caprese and a tuna salad. We are also offering a side salad instead of fries. For children, we have juices and an apple puree that they can have instead of a soft drink. We are also looking at fruit bags of apples and grapes."
First Foods Franchises currently employs about 450 people, a number that increases by 250 in summer. Of these, 160 are full-time employees. Annual recruitment day, attracting hundreds of hopefuls, will be held next weekend. McDonald's also recently introduced a McPassport, which enables trained crew to get work in any other outlet in the EU. As a major employer, the company in Malta also has a well-established programme of corporate social responsibility. It sponsors a number of sports events and clubs. It also does a considerable amount of charity work, not all of which is publicised.
"Over a period of time, we are reducing what we spend on advertising and will spend more on sponsorship," he said.
McHealthier
McDonald's Malta launched a booklet last January explaining the nutritional aspects of its menu items, and what proportion of daily amounts each one accounts for.
The booklet gives ways to make McMeals healthier: you get 63 per cent of your recommended daily fat intake from a Big Mac with medium fries and a Coca-Cola, reduced to 39 per cent by replacing the fries with a salad with balsamic dressing and the soft drink with water.
A grilled chicken Caesar salad with dressing but no croutons, and with a medium diet Coke has only 245kcal. Without the drink, it has 13 per cent of your daily fat.
Find the complete nutritional breakdown of its products on: http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.index1.html. The highest calorie items are the deluxe breakfast (1,280kcal) and the chocolate triple thick shake (1,160kcal).
Did you know?
• Over 40 million visitors eat at McDonald's around the world every day.
• Each outlet has 72 daily safety checks carried out.
• McDonald's 30,000 restaurants served 193 million kilograms of vegetables and 82 million kilograms of fruit in 2005.
• McDonald's is one of the world's largest employers, with a workforce of over one million.
• 70 per cent of its managers started as crew.