(Image source: Jezebel)

BY AMY WILLMOTT

ANCHOR ANA COMPAIN-ROMERO

Micky D restaurants in San Francisco are bumping up the price of happiness, charging a dime for toys in Happy Meals.

That -- in response to a strict new nutritional ordinance for fast food restaurants.

ABC reports.

“Strict new nutritional standards go into effect tomorrow for chain restaurant in San Francisco. The new law forbids restaurants from giving away toys with happy meals. At McDonalds parents will have to pay about a dime for the toys. Micky Ds say it’s already been moving towards healthier kids meals.”

The Healthy Food Incentive Ordinance bans toy giveaways with children’s fast food meals that don’t meet the strict nutritional criteria. It takes effect on Thursday. Here’s how the City and County of San Francisco website explains it.

“To provide an 
incentive item, meals must contain fruits and vegetables, not exceed 600 calories, and must not have 
beverages that have excessive fat or sugar.”

Critics who said fast food restaurants unfairly market to children helped push the ordinance, which passed last year. KESQ reports.

“According to a study out of Yale, young children are bombarded by television commercials, promoting happy meals. In fact toddlers saw at least 3 fast food commercials every day last year, teens and pre-teens watched about 4 or 5 a day.”

So -- essentially McDonald’s can get around the new ordinance by selling the toys separately. But some think a dime for a toy is the chain’s way of McDodging the issue of child obesity. The Huffington Post spoke to a representative of Corporate Accountability International, an organization that aims to fight what it sees as corporate abuse.

"Instead of doing the right thing, McDonald's is avoiding limiting its marketing to kids or improving the nutritional quality of their unhealthy food by selling toys ‘separately’ for an additional ten cents -- while still requiring purchase of a Happy Meal to get the toy,"  

But a writer for San Francisco Weekly suggests -- it seems Ronald and the gang have come through on top once more, leaving the legislators grimacing..

“In any event, it appears the fast food chain's sharpie lawyers have McTopped San Francisco's legislators. Count this city's lawmakers as the latest among the billions and billions served.”