McDonald’s Ingredients

Some McDonald’s Ingredients might Become Organic

McDonald’s is viewed by many as the poster child of unhealthy fast food. A recent announcement that they are losing customers to restaurants that offer healthier options led to them announcing that they will start to offer organic food options. This would be a big step in the right direction as many of the ingredients in their foods are artificially created and have little nutritional value. It will be interesting to see how the public responds to this move. Check out this video to see a survey done to test how much people enjoy McDonald’s’ “organic food.”

If you want to see what ingredients McDonald’s currently puts into their food check out this report. Below is a list of the McDonald’s ingredients for their chicken nuggets. This is a typical example of what they use to make their food. We believe that many of the ingredients in McDonald’s foods should be avoided. In looking at the below example of their chicken nuggets, many unnatural and unhealthy ingredients are easily identifiable. We hope McDonald’s continues their effort to move towards a healthier menu.

Chicken Nuggets Ingredient List

White boneless chicken, water, food starch-modified, salt, seasoning [autolyzed yeast extract, salt, wheat starch, natural flavoring (botanical source), safflower oil, dextrose, citric acid], sodium phosphates, natural flavor (botanical source). Battered and breaded with: water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), yellow corn flour, bleached wheat flour, food starch-modified, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium lactate), spices, wheat starch, dextrose, corn starch. Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.

Watch What You Eat

Here is our take on why we believe these ingredients should be avoided:

• McDonald’s ingredients containing MSG (MSG is an excitotoxin that is not good for any child’s brain)
  • Autolyzed yeast extract
  • Hydrogenated soybean oil
  • Citric acid
  • Food starch modified*
  • Corn starch*
  • Dextrose*
• Included fillers such as food starches, wheat starches, yellow corn flour, bleached wheat flour, etc. make up over 50% of the “chicken” product.
• Sodium phosphate – Buffer and effervescent used in the manufacture of nail enamels and detergents.
• Thiamin mononitrate – Nitrates are another excitotoxin.
• Hydrogenated soybean oil – hydrogenation (process of adding hydrogen gas under high pressure to liquid oils) converts naturally polyunsaturated fats to saturate fats.
• TBQH or Tertiary Butylhydroquinone – Used in conjunction with a preservative-antioxidant, this contains petroleum-derived butane and reduces oxidative deterioration in foods it is applied to, delaying the onset of rancidness.  Too much of TBQH can make a person extremely ill and even cause death.
• Dimethyl Polysiloxane – An anti-foaming agent with a polymer of silicone used especially in pharmaceutical and cosmetic preparations.

And the list goes on…  These ingredients and most others listed in the McDonald’s ingredients for their food fall under the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) category by the FDA and USDA.  However, these products where given the status because they were sanctioned prior to 1958 and thus received a pass.  GRAS ingredients were reviewed in the 1980’s but many utilized dated research and their use has continued, despite the growing knowledge of science.