McDonald's Threatened With Lawsuit for Pairing Toys With Happy Meals

June 22, 2010— -- A food industry watchdog group is threatening to take McDonald's to court over its practice of including toys with Happy Meals.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest announced Tuesday that it will file a lawsuit against McDonald's, calling the practice of marketing toys with junk food "illegal" under consumer protection laws in Massachusetts, Texas, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and California.

"Dangling a toy in front of a kid to try to get them into your restaurant is unfair and deceptive, because it's targeted at kids who are what? Four years old? Six years old? Who don't even understand the concept of advertising," Michael Jacobson, executive director of CSPI, said in an interview with ABC News' Yunji de Nies.

"It's not just a meal. It's the technique you're using to get kids to buy a meal," he said.

In a media statement e-mailed to ABCNews.com, William Whitman, vice president of communications atMcDonald's USA, said, "We couldn't disagree more with the misrepresentation of our food and marketing practices made by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Since 2006, we have been a part of the Council for Better Business Bureau's voluntary initiative to address the importance of children's well-being.

"In the U.S., McDonald's primarily advertises the four-piece Chicken McNuggets Happy Meal, which includes Apple Dippers, low-fat caramel dip and 1 percent low-fat white milk," Whitman said in the statement. "Happy Meals are right-sized for kids, a concept that has not changed since its introduction in 1979."

Pediatric nutritional experts said they certainly recognized the food marketing power of toys adapted from movie characters and TV. But not all agree with the CSPI's campaign against toys in Happy Meals.

"This is marketing pure and simple, and routinely this marketing is used to encourage kids to eat foods that propel them toward diseases that we don't want them to get -- such as diabetes," said Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center.

In a press release, CSPI pointed to a 2008 study by the Federal Trade Commission, which found that food companies spend more than $350 million on toy giveaways each year.

Katz said there was no question that toys were an effective way to steer children to Happy Meals.

"Their actions that are on public display convince me," said Katz. "The entities in the food industry that are pedaling the most questionable fare have the deepest pockets.

"Where there is debate is on how to regulate the marketing of what we'd called junk food for children," said Katz.

Katz hopes the attention from the threatened lawsuit against the fast-food chain may bring the matter to the attention of parents.