Australia's Heart Foundation, which grants the use of its health seal in license agreements, said it has asked McDonald's to remove the popular Tick sign, not as a criticism, but as a move indicating a change in the foundation's focus.

The Tick will no longer appear on McDonald's burgers, fries, salads and other items.

Smaller fast-food chains, including the gourmet pizza group Crust, will lose the Tick as well.

McDonald's pays about $300,000 a year for the right to display the Tick under a licensing arrangement for the foundation's "cost recovery."

Foundation chief executive Dr. Lyn Roberts said Tuesday the foundation's healthy food program would change direction and focus on ingredients delivered to restaurants and food outlets instead.

The foundation is expected to announce Wednesday a plan to conduct random tests on restaurant and fast food chains to help consumers know how much saturated fat and hidden salt is in their meals.

"We will make this information publicly available through quarterly audits on the foods Australians eat most often," Roberts said.

A McDonald's spokesman told The Daily Telegraph of Sydney, "We have valued the collaboration with the Heart Foundation... We were the first quick service restaurant to introduce nutrition labelling on our packaging in 2004 and we will roll out kilojoule labelling on our menu boards nationally from November."

Crust co-founder and director Costa Anastasiadis said Tuesday the Tick had become increasingly redundant as consumers became more educated about low-fat foods.