{{U}}Each day, 50, 000 shiny, fire-engine-red Gala apples work the way through a sprawling factory in Swedesboro, N. J.{{/U}} (87) {{U}}Inside, 26 machines wash them, core them, peel them, seed them, slice them, chill them.{{/U}} At the end of the line, (88) {{U}}they are dunked in a solution of calcium ascorbate and now deposited into little green bags featuring a jogging Ronald McDonald.{{/U}} From there, (89) {{U}}the bags make their way in refrigerated trucks to refrigerated containers in distribution centers, then to thousand of McDonald's restaurants up and down the Eastern Seaboard.{{/U}} (90) {{U}}No more than 14 days before leaving the plant, the fruit will take the place of French fries in some child's Happy Meal{{/U}}.
The apple slices, called Apple Dippers, are a symbol of how McDonald's is trying to offer healthier food to its customers (91) {{U}}and to answer the many critics who contend that most of its menu is poor nutritional quality.{{/U}} (92) {{U}}McDonald's has also not introduced a variety of "premium" salads, which will soon be joined by a salad of grapes, walnuts--and, of course, apples.{{/U}}
(93) {{U}}Yet it still remains to be seen these new offerings will assuage the concerns of public health officials and other critics{{/U}} of McDonald's highly processed fat and calorieladen sandwiches, drinks and fries. (94) {{U}}So far, however, they have not--at least not have entirely.{{/U}} But this much is already clear: just as its staple meals of burger and fries have made McDonald's the largest single buyer of beef and potatoes in the country, (95) {{U}}its new focus on fresh fruits and vegetables is making the company a minor player on $ 80 billion American produce industry.{{/U}}