By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
VRG Research Director
Available only in Canada, Santa Fe and Mediterranean Signature McWraps® debuted in late August 2013. The VRG spoke with Ontario Customer Relations Specialist Diana in September 2013 to find out more information about the new wraps. We were told that both wraps can be made to order without milk- and egg-containing components such as the cheeses and sauces. All of the components’ ingredients are listed on McDonald’s Canada website: http://www1.mcdonalds.ca/NutritionCalculator/IngredientFactsEN.pdf
Santa Fe Signature McWrap®
As stated on the McDonald’s Canada website, the Santa Fe McWrap® is made with “…tomatoes, red onions, shredded lettuce, fire roasted corn & black beans, with crispy tortilla strips. Topped with Monterey and cheddar cheese, with chili lime glaze and southwest sauce – all wrapped in a warm whole wheat soft-shell tortilla.”
We learned that the black beans do not contain meat or animal-based flavors. (In the Ingredient Facts document, the beans are listed under the entry for “Southwest Salad Vegetable Blend.”) The Monterey and cheddar cheeses are made with microbial enzymes. The chili lime glaze is listed as containing plant-based natural flavors and appears all-vegetable from the website Ingredients Facts document. Also from that listing, the southwest sauce contains “frozen egg yolk.”
Diana called us back within thirty-six hours of our initial conversation with answers to more of our questions about the McWraps®. Regarding the McWraps®, she stated that: (1) “The ‘flavoring preparation’ in the whole wheat tortilla is not animal-based”; and (2) “The natural flavor in the chili lime tri-colored tortilla strips is not animal-sourced.” The tortilla is listed in the Ingredient Facts document as containing monoglycerides of an unspecified source. The tortilla dough conditioner ingredients do not include L-cysteine.
Mediterranean Signature McWrap®
The McDonald’s Canada website states that the Mediterranean McWrap® contains “…tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, shredded lettuce and feta cheese, topped with roasted garlic hummus and feta sauce, all wrapped in a warm whole wheat soft-shell tortilla.” The Ingredients Facts document lists this menu item as containing “Lemon Crispy Onions” as well. Customer Relations Specialist Diana confirmed this.
According to the website’s Ingredients Facts document, it appears that the hummus is all-vegetable. The Lemon Crispy Onions in the Mediterranean McWrap® are listed as containing natural flavors of an unspecified source.
Customer Relations Specialist Diana told us in her call back to us that the feta cheese crumbles and the feta in the Mediterranean sauce contain “lipase that is animal-based.” On the Ingredients Facts document, the Mediterranean sauce is also listed as containing “frozen egg yolk.”The McDonald’s Canada website contains a FAQ page which states that there are thousands of consumer questions on it along with responses from McDonald’s Canada. http://yourquestions.mcdonalds.ca/ The page lists inquirers’ locations and often shows their thumbnail photos. There is a search function on this page for easy information retrieval. Many questions are specific to certain menu items but several are quite general (and candid) about McDonald’s Canada policy on a wide range of food topics. There are questions related to vegetarian and vegan issues.
The contents of this article, our website, and our other publications, including the Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company employees or company statements. Information does change and mistakes are always possible. Please use your own best judgrment about whether a product is suitable for you. Further research or confirmation may be warranted.
Fast food and quick service chain ingredient and menu item updates are located here: http://www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.php