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McDonalds fillets

he Filet-O-Fish is a fish sandwich sold by the international fast food chain sto
re McDonald's. It was invented in 1962 by Lou Groen, a McDonald's owner in Cinci
nnati, Ohio. While the fish composition of the sandwich has changed through the
years to satisfy taste and supply shortcomings, the framework of its ingredients
have remained the same; a fried fish filet patty, steamed bun, tartar sauce, an
d pasteurized processed American cheese.
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Product description
History
Product marketing
References
External links

Product description
As of December 2014, the Filet-O-Fish contains a battered, fried fish patty made
from pollock.[1] McDonald's Canada, United States, New Zealand, Czech Republic
and Hong Kong uses a half slice of cheese in each Filet-O-Fish sandwich.[2][3][4
][5]
History
The sandwich was created by a McDonald's franchise owner in Cincinnati, Ohio, na
med Lou Groen in 1962.[6][7] Groen owned a McDonald's in a predominantly Roman C
atholic neighborhood where his Catholic customers engaged in the practice of not
eating meat on Fridays[7] (a practice mandated before Vatican II but that the C
atholic Church continues to consider obligatory on Fridays during Lent).[8]
The product was named by Cye Landy of Cye Landy Advertising Agency, which was th
e advertising firm for that particular McDonald's franchise.
It has become popular with people who do not eat meat-based products or with die
tary restrictions concerning meat-based products. For example, in Islam, the fis
h used in the sandwich is considered halal even without special preparation, whi
le other meats require special slaughter techniques to be halal. The product als
o remains popular during Lent, and in some countries, like Australia, is now joi
ned by a temporary lenten "fish" menu, including other products like Fish and ch
ips.[7][verification needed]
The sandwich was the first non-hamburger menu item brought in by new McDonald's
company owner Ray Kroc.[9] Kroc made a deal with Groen: they would sell two nonmeat sandwiches on a Friday, Kroc's own Hula Burger (grilled pineapple with chee
se on a cold bun) and the Filet-O-Fish, and whichever sold the most would be add
ed to the permanent menu. The Filet-O-Fish "won hands down"[7] and was added to
menus throughout 1963 until reaching nationwide status in 1965.[10]
The use of farmed fish in the Filet-O-Fish first came about in 1981, when an own
er of a New Zealand fisheries company was dissatisfied with the pollock Filet-OFish he purchased at the Courtenay Place, Wellington restaurant. Saying to the m
anager that he could make a better tasting fish fillet, he was handed a box of f
illets and told to come back with identical, better-tasting fillets. He substitu
ted 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 re
staurant (and eventually several other New Zealand restaurants) with the red cod
fillets. The similar-tasting hoki was substituted several years later, due to i
ts competitive market value and its boneless fillets, and eventually was introdu

ced widely in the early 1990s when global pollock stocks were facing low numbers
.[11] McDonald's removed the Filet-O-Fish from its menus in the United States on
September 26, 1996,[12] and replaced with the Fish Filet Deluxe sandwich, which
was part of McDonald's ill-fated Deluxe line of sandwiches. However, the FiletO-Fish was brought back to its menus on March 22, 1998 due to overwhelming lette
rs and petitions, receiving the larger fish patty from the Fish Filet Deluxe.[13
]
In November 2007, McDonald's lowered the use of New Zealand hoki and increased t
he use of Alaskan pollock,[14] due to declining New Zealand hoki fishery sustain
ability and large cutbacks in the total allowable commercial catch of hoki by th
e New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries - from 250,000 tonnes in 1997 to 90,000 tonn
es in 2007.[15] McDonald's originally used Atlantic cod, before declining cod ca
tches forced McDonald's to find sustainable fish elsewhere. McDonald's is trying
to maintain fish only from areas certified as sustainable by the Marine Steward
ship Council, but that is becoming more difficult each year. Hoki is no longer a
n ingredient as of 2013, since McDonalds lists only pollock as the type of fish
used.[16]
As of March 2009, the Marine Stewardship Council[17] placed the Alaskan pollock
fisheries in a re-assessment program[18] due to catch numbers declining by over
30% between 2005 and 2008, and by-catch problems with salmon.
As of January 2013 the Marine Stewardship Council stated that the pollock comes
from suppliers with sustainable fishing practices, and McDonald's packaging/prom
otion will reflect that change.[19]
Product marketing
Captain Crook, the McDonaldland character, was previously used to market the san
dwich to children.

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