McDonald's Cuts Angus Burger From Menu After Rise In Beef Prices

While McDonald's Angus Burgers may have lasted 1 year longer than its competitor Burger King, the big burger chain decided Thursday that it would discontinue the product until further notice.

The burgers were introduced in 2009 and declared too costly to continue to manufacture with beef at an all-time high. The company also announced that it would be cutting the wrap version of the burger, as well as its Fruit and Walnut salad and Chicken Selects.

BurgerBusiness.com reported that McDonald's is seeking to replace the extra-thick burgers with upgraded versions of the Quarter Pounder, including an option with bacon. That option was not yet confirmed at press time, the Associated Press reports.

Richard Adams, who consults McDonald's franchises, said the popularity of the Dollar Menu has proven a major problem for the fast food company as customers are unwilling to pay for the product -- which tops out as one of the most costly items ranging from $4 to $5 -- when more affordable, practical items were available to them.

"When you can get four or five burgers off the Dollar Menu, nobody's going to buy the Angus burger," he said. "The Dollar Menu has become a real problem for these chains."

Howard Penney, a restaurant analyst with Hedgeye Risk Management, also noted that McDonald's didn't have the "pricing power" to keep up with the rising cost of beef. That is, it would be unable to raise its prices as it cannot expect customers to want to pay more for food typically known for being cheap.

It is not clear whether or not Angus burgers, and other cut products, are still being sold or if any of them will be offered for a finite amount of time before the final cut. A restaurant in Detroit is reported to have blacked out the items with a "Product No Longer Available" sign, but McDonald's did not respond to questions regarding availability.

The fast food restaurant chain still had the items listed on its website Thursday.

A rush to revamp fast food menus to attract younger customers appears to be the trend recently, as McDonald's is offering healthier options, including egg white substitutions and whole wheat muffins for any of their breakfast sandwiches.

Burger King removed its Angus Burger from menus at the end of 2011 to cope with rising costs and has since introduced tiny treats such as frozen Cokes. Taco Bell recently announced a test run of a new $1 Cravings Menu and Wendys has changed some items on its menu as well.

The competitive fast food industry is currently fighting to maintain a fresh image while noting the spending consciousness of tough economic times.