Tag Archives: McDonald’s

Myth Busting: Disappearing Chicken in McNuggets

Posted on by
Reply

In our first of hopefully many fun segments, we’re going to test the myth that the chicken in McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets disappears when not consumed for 10 days.

mcnuggetcollage1

mrshappyhomemaker.com

click here for the original story

 

Quick Summary: Mrs. Happy Homemaker claims she put McNuggets in her fridge for 10 days and then examined them to find that they were all completely hollow shells of fried whatever and no remnants of white stuff (chicken or other) inside.

Could be true; could be bogus…

 

Set up for our experiment:

I purchased a 6-piece Chicken McNuggets from McDonald’s on June 27th at approximately 5pm. Following the methodology in the original story, I simply placed the McNuggets in my refrigerator and waited 10 days. On July 7th at approximately 7pm, I pushed my thumb into one of the McNuggets as described in the original story.

And…

BOGUS!

10 d nuggets

McNuggets day 10

Real Chicken 10 days

Real Chicken day 10

Maybe that’s not fair- maybe it happened for Mrs. Happy Homemaker like she said and it just didn’t work for us.  I doubt it, but it’s possible.  Truth be told, I was a little disappointed b/c, if there are two things that I love, they are experiments that work and bashing fast food manufacturers.

As grossed out as I am by Chicken McNuggets, that is more/less what I would expect to happen with real chicken.  This, however, only proves that the white substance in McNuggets doesn’t magically disappear after 10 days in the fridge.

2-WEEK UPDATE:

2 wk nugget

McNugget day 14

Real Chicken day 14

Real Chicken day 14

 

Hopefully the next experiment will turn out better… I am always on the lookout for any reason to warn people off fast food aside from the should-be-obvious it’s terrible for you, will make you fat, give you diabetes and kill you unless consumed in extreme moderation.  However, the idea that the white chicken-like substance in McNuggets magically disappears is not one of them.  Be careful what you believe on the internet. Unfortunately, there is more crap than truth out there.  Stay tuned for a full story on McNuggets on livestrong.com I will update with the link when it’s up.  Enjoy and stay healthy!

Informative: McDonald’s French Fries

Posted on by
Reply

McDonald’s French Fries not only unhealthy but not vegetarian!

FriesNUTRITION (large): 500 calories, 25 grams fat, 63 grams carbs, 350 milligrams sodium, 6 grams fiber, 6 grams protein

INGREDIENTS: Potatoes, vegetable oil (canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor [wheat and milk derivatives]*, citric acid [preservative]), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (to maintain color), salt and dimethylpolysiloxane. The oil used for frying also mentions tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ).

*Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients.

Some people claim that the beef flavor comes from the milk mentioned above.  When was the last time you had a glass of milk that tasted like beef?  There is beef extract (contains beef!) and wheat and milk in the beef flavoring added to the fries.  They specifically mention the wheat and milk for liability purposes, as these are common allergens.

For decades, McDonald’s fries were cooked in beef tallow (beef fat), which gave a slight beef flavor. When they were mandated by the government to switch to vegetable oil, they didn’t want to change flavor so they started adding beef flavor (beet extract). They are NOT vegetarian.  They had “natural flavor” in ingredient list before being sued in 2001, at which point they added “beef” to the ingredient list.  Yes, it’s a tiny amount but it is in there.

Otherwise, they contain a smorgasbord of chemicals and preservatives, but who doesn’t love a little tertiary butylhydroquinone every now and then?  As freaky as it is to know you’re consuming silicone and antifoaming agents when you eat fries, the reality is the nutritional value is so dung poor that you’re likely to die from diabetes long before the chemicals harm you.

Overall: starch, oil, sugar, preservatives, salt & silicone.  Fried.  What’s not to love?

Read the full story at livestrong.com