McDonald’s has announced it will remove a number of ingredients from its menu in the US as the fast food chain continues to adapt to changing consumer trends. The changes will affect about 50% of products on its US menus.

McDonald’s, which has more than 14,000 restaurants in the US, said it will remove artificial preservatives in a number of products including its chicken nuggets, sausages, eggs and breakfast sandwiches. McDonald’s also said it has stopped sourcing chickens raised on antibiotics also commonly used in humans from its supply chain and announced plans to stop using eggs from chickens raised in cages.

The company also said it will switch from producing its burger buns from high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) back to ordinary sugar as consumers grow increasingly wary of the sweetener.

These changes are the latest part of new chief executive Steve Easterbrook’s plan to revive flagging sales at the fast food giant. However, when a customer the size of McDonald’s makes sweeping changes like these to its menu it can have significant knock-on effects for suppliers.

While these menu changes are just being rolled out in the US, we could also see similar changes to McDonald’s European menus in the not too distant future. Suppliers to McDonald’s European operations based in Ireland and Northern Ireland, including Dawn Meats, Slaney Meats, Kerry Group and Moy Park, will be watching closely.