McDonald's cooks french fries in different kinds of oil.

McDonald's agreed to donate $10 million to Hindu and other groups to settle lawsuits over the mislabeling of french fries.

McDonald's acknowledged on its website that it made mistakes in communicating with customers and the public about the ingredients in its food.The vegetable oil used to cook the food was not pure, but it contained the essence of beef.Hindus do not eat beef.

"We sincerely apologize for any hardship that these miscommunications have caused among Hindus, vegetarians and others, and we regret we did not provide these customers with complete information," the company said in an apology posted June 1 on the Web site.We are committed to doing a better job in the future.

McDonald's says it has created a panel of experts that will advise it on the best way to eat.

Cook County Circuit Judge Richard Siebel gave his tentative approval of the deal last month.

The 11 named plaintiffs will each receive $4,000 under the agreement.Siebel will make his final ruling on the agreement on August 22.

The class and clients were most interested in the apology and disclosure.When other fast food chains see what Mcdonald's has done, they will have to follow suit.I want to start a chain reaction.

The money Mcdonald's will pay out will go to organizations that deal with issues that are related to the concerns of consumers.

Three vegetarians, including two Hindus who don't eat meat for religious reasons, sued Mcdonald's over the fries in Seattle last year.There were lawsuits filed in Illinois, California, New Jersey and Texas.

The lawsuits were filed for people who ate McDonald's fries after 1990.The company said it would no longer use beef fat to cook fries and only use vegetable oil.