# Chicken McNugget Ingredients Revealed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343 "2011-01-20T16:49:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/21 "2011-01-20T19:26:12Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > McDonalds adds some bleach to the recipe to make it look like white meat. Cite? > [@](#): > > Ingredients: Chicken meat, water, modified corn starch, salt, chicken broth powder (chicken broth, salt and natural chicken flavouring), seasoning [(vegetable oil (soybean and/or canola), extracts of rosemary, mono, di and triglycerides (from sunflower oil) and soy lecithin)] I see no bleach listed here. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/22 "2011-01-20T19:34:50Z")
FTR, I do not eat a McDonald’s, mostly due to my high cholesterol and the high sodium and fat they offer. I’m more against these outrageous “expert” claims of what _actually_ is in them. Funny, how no one is worried about the materials rendered to make Jello. ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/23 "2011-01-20T19:49:05Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > That’s not how they’re made. He even admits it in the second video. THIS. McDonalds chicken nuggets _do not contain_ mechanically separated chicken. They _are not_ made like the video shows. USDA regulations require mechanically separated chicken to be listed as such in ingredient lists. Jamie Oliver engages in dishonest sensationalism. The kids eating the nuggets at the end serves him right. I don’t understand the moral crusade against McDonald’s, and why they’re continually singled out over any of the other fast food restaurants that have even less healthy food on the menu. Burger King offers the 970 calorie Steakhouse XT and the 1140 calorie Triple Whopper. McDonald’s Bacon and Cheese Angus is 790 calories, the highest they have to offer. Will eating fast food on any sort of regular basis make you fat? Yes. Will it literally poison you? No. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/24 "2011-01-20T20:11:18Z")
Moved MPSIMS --\> Cafe Society. And no, thank you, I do not want fries with that. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/25 "2011-01-20T20:14:07Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > Cite? > > I see no bleach listed here. You may note that the ingredients list is from McDonalds Canada - > [@](#): > > Chicken McNugget ingredients (from McDonald’s Canada list): I wouldn’t care to speculate what weird shit you Americans are putting in your McNuggets (probably gun powder, if I had to guess). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/26 "2011-01-20T20:19:16Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Then can I have your share of dark meat? Because that’s the stuff I prefer. It’s quite frustrating how American food culture seems obsessed with white meat chicken. Because our population is 2/3 white people. That’s also why there is more white meat on the chicken in the first place. _D&R_ ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/27 "2011-01-20T20:20:36Z")
> [@Cleophus](#): > > \ > I don’t understand the moral crusade against McDonald’s, and why they’re continually singled out over any of the other fast food restaurants that have even less healthy food on the menu. Burger King offers the 970 calorie Steakhouse XT and the 1140 calorie Triple Whopper. McDonald’s Bacon and Cheese Angus is 790 calories, the highest they have to offer. Will eating fast food on any sort of regular basis make you fat? Yes. Will it literally poison you? No. If you to to the nutrition section of the websites for other chain restaurants like [Chili’s Restaurant](http://www.chilis.com/EN/Nutritional%20Information/Chilis_Nutrition_Menu_Generic.pdf), you’ll see that McDonald’s is not particularly bad or unusual in supplying people with high-fat, high-sodium foods - they just serve it to you quicker and you don’t have to tip. I’ve come to the conclusion that if you want to eat healthy, you have to make it yourself. We eat out a couple of times per week; we aren’t under any illusions that we’re eating healthy because we’re in a sit-down restaurant instead of a McDonald’s. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/28 "2011-01-20T20:20:37Z")
> [@](#): > > I have this theory about McDonald’s . . . Everything they serve is just one thing. And in the back they have a vat full of this . . . stuff . . . and they pour it into a mold to fill your order. > > “Hamburger!” > > shhhhhlllllllllkkkkkkk! > > “Chocolate shake!” > > shhhhhlllllllllkkkkkkk! > > “Paper box!” > > shhhhhlllllllllkkkkkkk! > > “Here’s your change!” > > shhhhhlllllllllkkkkkkk! – Steve Martin ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/29 "2011-01-20T20:21:41Z")
Straight from McDonald’[s.com](http://s.com) > [@](#): > > Chicken, water, salt, sodium phosphates. Battered and breaded with: bleached wheat flour, water, wheat flour, food starch-modified, salt, spices, wheat gluten, paprika, dextrose, yeast, garlic powder, partially hydrogenated soybean oil and cottonseed oil with mono -and diglycerides, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda, ammonium bicarbonate, monocalcium phosphate), natural flavor (plant source) with extractives of paprika. 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. I hate stories about “Hidden ingredient found in fast food item! Why didn’t they tell us?!” They did. You can find every ingredient for every time on nearly every single fast food website. They have to post it, it’s the law. Consumers should be better about looking up the things they eat. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/30 "2011-01-20T20:25:58Z")
I’ve heard Michael Pollan in interviews, and the guy always comes off as a bit of a wanker. That’s not to say he doesn’t make some good points, but he and his ilk use a lot of junk science and scare tactics. In many ways they’re like the global warming deniers of the left. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/31 "2011-01-20T20:27:22Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Even if they were, is this a bad thing? 😕 If they had an all dark-meat chicken nugget, I’d be right on it. Or one made with Turkey Breast, right? 😉 I’m actually surprised that chicken McNuggets contain chicken. I was told by my late father that their burger patties were just reconstituted sawdust, and I could only presume the same was true of their chicken! ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/32 "2011-01-20T20:29:34Z")
The way I used to eat them, they were 50% nugget and 50% honey mustard sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/33 "2011-01-20T20:29:42Z")
OH MY GOD! It contains Dihydrogen monoxide! You know what else contains dihydrogen monoxide? PEOPLE! Soylent Nuggets are people!!! ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/34 "2011-01-20T20:29:59Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > Or one made with Turkey Breast, right? 😉 > > I’m actually surprised that chicken McNuggets contain chicken. I was told by my late father that their burger patties were just reconstituted sawdust, and I could only presume the same was true of their chicken! I know you’re joking, but in the interest of fighting ignorance Mcdonald’s burgers are made with: > [@](#): > > 100% Beef Patty > 100% pure USDA inspected beef; no fillers, no extenders. Prepared with grill seasoning (salt, black pepper). ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/35 "2011-01-20T20:46:45Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I wouldn’t care to speculate what weird shit you Americans are putting in your McNuggets (probably gun powder, if I had to guess). 🙂 And bibles. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/36 "2011-01-20T21:27:22Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > And bibles. And they’re personally blessed by either Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly. (Depending on which shift they were made.) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/37 "2011-01-20T21:39:48Z")
Back in my high school days, I’m pretty sure Sonic burgers had soy filler in them. I recall it was printed right on the drive-in menu. They switched back to all meat about 20 tears ago. > [@](#): > > Many fast-food restaurants commonly use soy protein in hamburger buns (soy flour) hamburger meat (soy protein) and hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) in sauces. On their respective websites, **McDonald’s and Burger King list soy flour as an ingredient in their hamburger buns.** [4][5] U.S. Nutrition Information Multi-grain breads, doughnuts, doughnut mix and pancake mix commonly contain soy flour. Nearly all bread products available in the US now contain soy. Soy can now be found in nearly all types of foods, from meat to ice cream, to cheese, to french fries. Many foods are contaminated with soy due to being cooked in soy oil. At the Jack in the Box fast food chain for example, everything fried is cooked in a soy oil. At Baskin Robbins, over half of all ice creams offered contain soy. > **[Soy allergy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_allergy)** > > Soy allergy is a type of food allergy. It is a hypersensitivity to ingesting compounds in soy (Glycine max), causing an overreaction of the immune system, typically with physical symptoms, such as gastrointestinal discomfort, respiratory distress, or a skin reaction. Soy is among the eight most common foods inducing allergic reactions in children and adults. It has a prevalence of about 0.3% in the general population. > Soy allergy is usually treated with an exclusion diet and vigilant avoidance... ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/38 "2011-01-20T21:55:09Z")
has anyone ever wathced how hotdogs or bologna are made? nuggets pail in comparison to the horror that is the making of a hotdog. Cite - “How its Made” - on the _ **Science** _ Channel. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/39 "2011-01-20T22:15:41Z")
Another post about how the McNuggets are made: [http://www.geekologie.com/2010/10/mommy\_where\_do\_mcnuggets\_come.php](http://www.geekologie.com/2010/10/mommy_where_do_mcnuggets_come.php) I have to agree with anyone who says that they like the real breastmeat better. My kids love McNuggets and I often end up eating one or two or else they’re thrown away. I’m not a big fan of them by any means. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343/40 "2011-01-20T22:19:31Z")
As a kid, I _did_ eat Silly Putty (tastes salty) and I’m still here to tell the tale… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicken-mcnugget-ingredients-revealed/568343.md?page=3)