The transparency campaign initiated by McDonald’s last year was intended at marketing a more health conscious image of McDonald’s Corp.–and at using social media more effectively, but instead of talking about their love for the brand, the hashtag became a forum for people to talk about how disgusting they believe the food is.
The ingredients in their french fries went viral. Instead of the basic two ingredients-potatoes and oil, consumers found out McDonald’s french fries contain 17 ingredients.
The campaign isn’t brand new. Launched by McDonalds last June using a YouTube video to answer a consumer’s question about why their food looks so drastically different in commercials than in the restaurant, the “Our Food, Your Questions” premise opened McDonalds’ kitchen doors, lending the brand to a supposed more honest and transparent feel. By prompting consumers to ask their questions on Facebook or Twitter, McDonalds hoped to build trust and credibility in a marketplace where bad press has followed them in the form of viral videos and unappetizing images.
McDonald’s eventually began disclosing the secret behind how the fast food chain’s fries are made. They produced a video answering a series of questions about McDonald’s fries: where the potatoes come from, how they are processed, what kind of oil they’re fried in, and why there is so much salt on them.
Mario Dupuis, a production manager at McCain Foods in New Brunswick, where the potatoes are washed, peel and cut. They’re also blanched to “remove natural sugars” that would cause colour variations then soaked in dextrose for an even colour. There’s also an ingredient to prevent greying, drying to remove excess moisture and a quick-fry for 45 to 60 seconds before the fries are frozen for shipping.
The worst part are the ingredients. Instead of the standard two ingredients necessary to make french fries-potatoes and oil, there are approximately 17 as reported on the ingredients facts list on the McDonald’s website.
They include:
Potatoes, canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, safflower oil, natural flavour (vegetable source), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain colour), citric acid (preservative), dimethylpolysiloxane (antifoaming agent) and cooked in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with THBQ, citric acid and dimethylpolysiloxane) and salt (silicoaluminate, dextrose, potassium iodide).
At a glance, many of the ingredients above are hazardous to human health, including those which are genetically modified (canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil), hydrogenated (soybean oil), chemically preserved and antifoaming (THBQ, citric acid, dimethylpolysiloxane), and artificially colored (sodium acid pyrophosphate).
How many people do you think have an awareness that McDonald’s french fries contain this many ingredients? Thanks for the transparency McDonald’s…hopefully it will help wake up more people to the difference between your artificial food and real food.
Among the ingredients in McDonald’s french fries are canola oil and hydrogenated soybean oil. Canola oil and soybean oil are almost always genetically modified. As an added bonus, soybean oil has a high trans fat component. According to nutritional experts, there are no safe levels of trans fats for human consumption.
The fries also contain dextrose, a form of sugar, as well as dimethylpolysiloxane, an anti-foaming agent which is actually a type of silicone. Sodium acid pyrophosphate is added to ‘maintain color’.
This last ingredient, while approved by the FDA in ‘dispersed form,’ is a skin and eye irritant and has been linked to severe inflammation upon direct contact, inhalation or ingestion in its undispersed form. Probably not something you want in your food.
McDonald’s fries also have extremely high levels of refined sodium, which has been linked to high blood pressure, cellular dehydration, and a variety of health issues. While unrefined sea salt has many health benefits, refined sodium is highly processed, and has many potentially negative effects.
If you or your children are looking for a delicious snack to munch on, one yummy recipe is to cut peeled sweet potatoes into strips, and bake with some organic olive oil. You won’t get the high acrylamide content from deep-frying, and sweet potatoes offer a wide variety of benefits, such as beta carotene, that white potatoes simply do not have.
In any event, skip the McDonald’s fries. They are even worse than we thought.
Originally Posted On: http://www.shoah.org.uk/2013/07/01/mcdonalds-transparency-campaign-revealed-17-ingredients-in-their-french-fries/
http://www.thealternativedaily.com/mcdonalds-fries-much-worse-than-the-average-french-fry-they-have-17-ingredients/
Growing up I used to CRAVE that "stuff!" I know kids that BEG their folks for McNasties! If I ever feel the "urge" these days, I just remember the pictures of AGED McNasty meals that look EXACTLY as they were served, MONTHS BEFORE! When will the class action suit start over all the DEATHS that McD's is responsible for?
ReplyDeletewow! really? all I can say is...we all have free-will..to eat or not to eat!
ReplyDeleteA homeless guy got into the parking lot of my apartment building 2 months ago. Among the mess he left was a McDonalds cheeseburger. For 2 months, it has sat there untouched on the concrete. Possums, racoons, cats, rats and any insect you could think of could have easy access to a free meal but it still sits there untouched. After that long time just about any food would spoil and begin to stink but it does not.
ReplyDeleteThink about that the next time you get a 'big mac attack.' Not even a starving wild animal would touch it!
facts
DeleteSuch a nice implementation of antifoaming agent with help of Concrete foam has been established here.This is the analatical view of foaming agent and have great fun to organise the conceptual thinking.
ReplyDelete