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Filet-O-Fish

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Filet-O-Fish
Filet-O-Fish Sandwich
Nutritional value per 1 sandwich (141 g)
Energy380 kcal (1,600 kJ)
38 g (13%)
Sugars5 g
Dietary fiber2 g (7%)
18 g (28%)
Saturated3.5 g (19%)
Trans0 g
15 g
Vitamins and minerals
VitaminsQuantity
%DV†
Vitamin A30 IU
Vitamin C
0%
0 mg
MineralsQuantity
%DV†
Calcium
12%
150 mg
Iron
4%
0.8 mg
Sodium
28%
640 mg
Other constituentsQuantity
Energy from fat170 kcal (710 kJ)
Cholesterol40 mg (14%)
May vary outside US market. 360 kcal (1,500 kJ) in UK. Some restaurants publish nutritional information for the sandwich with the tartar sauce removed.
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[1] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[2]
Source: McDonald's

The Filet-O-Fish (which was introduced in 1962 and reached nationwide status in the United States in 1965) is a fish sandwich sold by the international fast food chain store McDonald's. It includes Fish Filet Patty, Regular Bun, Tartar Sauce, and Pasteurized Process American Cheese.

Product description

The Filet-O-Fish contains a battered fish patty made mostly from whitefish,[3] a slice of processed cheese and 30ml of tartar sauce. Currently in the UK, however, new operational procedures[clarification needed] in practice have reduced the amount of sauce to 20ml of tartar sauce and fillets are no longer salted.[citation needed] The tartar sauce is made with dill relish and seasoning on a steamed bun. It is similar to the English favourite, the fish finger sandwich. As of 2011 the size of the fish patty was reduced by 20%.[citation needed]

History

The sandwich was created by a McDonald's franchise owner in Cincinnati, Ohio, named Lou Groen in 1962.[4][5] Groen owned a McDonald's in a predominantly Roman Catholic neighborhood where his Catholic customers engaged in the practice of not eating meat on Fridays[5] (a practice more common in the '60s but that the Catholic Church continues to consider obligatory on Fridays during Lent).[6]

The product was named by Cye Landy of Cye Landy Advertising Agency, which was the advertising firm for that particular McDonald's franchise.

It has become popular with people who cannot eat meat-based products or with dietary restrictions concerning meat-based products. For example, in Islam, the fish used in the sandwich is considered halal even without special preparation, whilst other meats require special slaughter techniques to be halal.[5][verification needed]

The sandwich was the first non-hamburger menu item brought in by new McDonald's company owner Ray Kroc[7]. Kroc made a deal with Groen: they would sell two non-meat sandwiches on a Friday, Kroc's own Hula Burger (grilled pineapple with cheese on a cold bun) and the Filet-O-Fish, and whichever sold the most would be added to the permanent menu. The Filet-O-Fish "won hands down"[5] and was added to menus throughout 1963 until reaching nationwide status in 1965.[8]

The use of farmed fish in the Filet-O-Fish first came about in 1981, when an owner of a New Zealand fisheries company was dissatisfied with the pollock Filet-O-Fish he purchased at the Courtenay Place, Wellington restaurant. Saying to the manager that he could make a better tasting fish fillet, he was handed a box of fillets and told to come back with identical, better-tasting fillets. He substituted red cod for the pollock, and after the manager was satisfied with the better-tasting red cod fillets, ended up in agreement to supply the Courtenay Place restaurant (and eventually several other New Zealand restaurants) with the red cod fillets. The similar-tasting hoki was substituted several years later, due to its cheaper price and its boneless fillets, and eventually was introduced widely in the early 1990s when global pollock stocks were facing low numbers.[9]

In November 2007, McDonald's lowered the use of New Zealand hoki and increased the use of Alaskan pollock,[10] due to declining New Zealand hoki fishery sustainability and large cutbacks in the total allowable commercial catch of hoki by the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries - from 250,000 tonnes in 1997 to 90,000 tonnes in 2007.[11] McDonald's originally used cod, before declining cod catches forced McDonald's to find sustainable fish elsewhere. McDonald's is trying to maintain fish only from areas certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, but that is becoming more difficult each year. Hoki is still a major ingredient.[12]

As of March 2009, the Marine Stewardship Council[13] placed the Alaskan Pollock fisheries in a re-assessment program[14] due to catch numbers declining by over 30% between 2005 and 2008, and by-catch problems with salmon.

References

  1. ^ United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". FDA. Archived from the original on 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  2. ^ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). ISBN 978-0-309-48834-1. PMID 30844154. Archived from the original on 2024-05-09. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
  3. ^ http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/product_nutrition.sandwiches.290.filetofish.html
  4. ^ Smith, Craig (November 7, 2002). "North Sea Cod Crisis Brings Call for Nations to Act". [[New York Times]]. Retrieved 2010-12-30. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |publisher= at position 12 (help)
  5. ^ a b c d Clark, Paul (February 20, 2007). "No fish story: Sandwich saved his McDonald's". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-12-30. Cite error: The named reference "USAToday" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Fasting and Abstinence".
  7. ^ Pepin, Jacques (December 7, 1998). "Burger Meister RAY KROC". Time. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  8. ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mcd_history.html |title=Travel Through Time With Us! |last=n/a |first=n/a |date=n/a | publisher= McDonald's Corporate |accessdate=2010-12-30 }}
  9. ^ Hepözden, Rosemary (2011). O'Flaherty, Brian (ed.). Golden Arches under Southern Skies: Celebrating 35 years of McDonald's in New Zealand. in co-op with McDonald's Restaurants (NZ) Ltd. Auckland: Renaissance Publishing. pp. 78–79. ISBN 978-0-9864521-1-6.
  10. ^ [1],
  11. ^ Moore, Bill (June 28, 2011). "Hoki fishery rebuilt, quota to rise, says minister". Nelson Mail. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
  12. ^ Daily Finance Article
  13. ^ [2]
  14. ^ [3]
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