McDonald's fast food chain in Ireland promoted a myths and misstatements busting offensive yesterday to counter bad publicity it might have been getting.
And while none of the McDonald's executives could point to specific anti-company propaganda here, it used the occasion to give a lie to the idea that their very long chips were made of powdered potato dropped in hot oil.
"Our chips are the length they are because we have them grown that way. They are made from quality potatoes which are long in shape," said Clare Sheridan, head of supply chain and quality assurance at the company.
"They are made from carefully selected varieties of Russet Burbank, Shepody and Pentland Dell varieties . . . and provide consistent quality in terms of texture and length," she told a press conference in the Grafton Street outlet in Dublin.
However, unlike the beef that is served in the 74 Irish outlets, these potatoes are grown in the UK and not in Ireland.
But she countered by saying that the company served nothing but 100 per cent premium Irish beef in all its hamburgers.
The company, which opened in the Republic in 1977, now employs 3,500 people in 74 outlets, serving more than one million meals a week to Irish people.