San Diego-based Jack in the Box will no longer include toys in its kid's combo meals, spokespeople from the fifth-largest fast food chain told Reuters yesterday. The move comes amidst pressure from new ordinances in several California towns, which will require that kid's meals meet certain nutritional standards in order to be allowed to include free kid's meals. Jack in the Box has said that their decision was not related. It comes hot on the heels of a June 9th announcement of a new option to swap out the fries in kid's combos for apple slices.
Children's nutrion advocates praised the move as a step towards less manipulative marketing at fast food chains. They noted that they hope that the decision would encourage Jack in the Box's competitors to remove toys from their kid's meals as well.
Meanwhile, McDonald's has been busy promoting June as Pokemon month, and is including figurines from the Black/White series of the venerable Japanese video game in its Happy Meals. A McDonald's spokesperson declined to comment specifically on Jack in the Box's decision, telling the Huffington Post just that, "we continue to focus on our customers and our business."