Business

McDonald’s to launch egg-white McMuffin

In a bid to reach health-conscious consumers, the iconic fast food franchise McDonald's is going to try and bolster its faltering sales with a lean, new egg-white sandwich.

McDonald's will release the Egg White Delight, an egg white version of the Egg McMuffin breakfast sandwich, nationwide on April 22, said company spokeswoman Danya Proud.

The new sandwich, which contains bacon and white cheddar on a whole grain English muffin, totals 250 calories, according to Proud. That's compared to the classic Egg McMuffin, which has 300 calories. She added that egg whites will also be offered on the other breakfast sandwiches sold at McDonald's.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an egg yolk contain 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat and 213 milligrams of cholesterol, as well as 60 calories, Egg whites, however have no fat or cholesterol, and 15 calories. The USDA recommends that egg yolk consumption should be limited to four yolks per week.

McDonald's will release the Egg White Delight on the heels of last month's sluggish sales. On March 8, McDonald's announced that U.S. same-store sales slipped 3.3 percent in February. The company blamed the decline, in part, on the fact that February 2012 included an extra day because of Leap Year, which threw off the year-to-year comparison.

In its earnings release, the Oak Brook, Ill.-based company touted the recent release of two other new products -- the Grilled Onion Cheddar burger and the Hot n' Spicy McChicken -- that helped bolster sales.

Additionally, as St. Patrick's Day approaches, McDonald's is offering its cult-favorite Shamrock Shake. The minty green shake has been a staple since 1970, but the franchise only started selling the shake nationwide last year.

At 530 calories, 15 grams of fat and 86 grams of carbohydrates, the extreme-green shake is not for the egg white crowd.