# Does McDonalds really use zero additives and fillers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 13, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138 "2011-09-13T04:34:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/1 "2011-09-13T04:34:26Z")
Their poster here: [https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-42UWI6PBf0I/Tm7cOUMtdAI/AAAAAAAAz7g/tVvJ1KKdMxs/s800/photo.JPG](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-42UWI6PBf0I/Tm7cOUMtdAI/AAAAAAAAz7g/tVvJ1KKdMxs/s800/photo.JPG) It says, “we use nothing other than 100% beef with zero additives and fillers. All that we add? A small pinch of salt and pepper for taste.” Is this possible? Is cooking this easy? Or is there a legal loophole they’re making use of? I’m very wary of food terminology after learning Snapple’s apple juice “drink” doesn’t contain apple juice, and this is allowed because it’s a “juice drink”, not “juice” [http://www.omg-facts.com/view/Facts/42968](http://www.omg-facts.com/view/Facts/42968) ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/2 "2011-09-13T04:42:05Z")
I believe that, yes, they do use 100% beef. It is pretty common for fast food meat to be low quality dairy cow and bull meat, mixed with excess fat off of higher quality cattle. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/3 "2011-09-13T04:43:38Z")
But if I buy 5 star ground beef and cook it with salt and pepper, it doesn’t taste as good as their burgers? ---
**Author:** ![Reverend\_Meade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Reverend\_Meade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reverend_Meade)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/4 "2011-09-13T04:49:25Z")
Why would they? Additives cost money. I doubt they use “a little” salt, I think they probably add more than is healthy. However, the burgers don’t have to look good because you don’t see them till after you’ve bought it, and I’m given to undertstand that the turnaround of product is quick enough that they don’t need longer shelf life. Why would they spend the extra money? ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/5 "2011-09-13T04:52:21Z")
This is a total guess for GQ but by using meat from dairy cattle that are fed for milk production; you may be tasting beef the way it tasted before they started using corn in the feedlots ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/6 "2011-09-13T05:38:53Z")
Put it this way: if it _weren’t_ true, it’d be an exceptionally foolish thing for McDonald’s to be putting in their ads, as the truth would come out, sooner or later, and create a PR nightmare (and probably lawsuits, as well). Lying about this simply wouldn’t be worth it, especially for a company which is pretty sensitive to how it handles its public image. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/7 "2011-09-13T05:40:25Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > But if I buy 5 star ground beef and cook it with salt and pepper, it doesn’t taste as good as their burgers? It should taste even better, honestly. Listen, I actually enjoy McDonald’s, but get some good freshly ground choice or better boneless short ribs (and/or chuck) and fry them up with salt and pepper, and that’s a great burger right there. You don’t need anything to make a delicious burger other than good beef, salt, and pepper. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/8 "2011-09-13T05:52:06Z")
Well, if we’re going to get technical here, the ad makes this claim for ONLY the “Quarter Pounder With Cheese”. Which means they can sell you some other burger made out of possum meat and newspaper shreds. Not that I’m saying they actually _do_ that, but they could. Maybe somewhere else they make a more general claim like “_all_ our burger are 100% beef with no fillers”, in which case you could feel a bit more secure. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/9 "2011-09-13T07:46:47Z")
Does 100 percent cow mean the same as 100 percent beef?:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/10 "2011-09-13T08:09:52Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > Does 100 percent cow mean the same as 100 percent beef?:dubious: Not at all. Hide, hooves, horns, … ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/11 "2011-09-13T08:33:18Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Maybe somewhere else they make a more general claim like “_all_ our burger are 100% beef with no fillers”, in which case you could feel a bit more secure. [They do](http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/ingredientslist.pdf). ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/12 "2011-09-13T08:40:51Z")
I used to work for one of McDonald’s competitors, and our small and quarter-pound hamburger patties came in boxes with an ingredients list that read “beef, salt”. We also had a sirloin patty which had some spices and bouillon mixed into it, but was otherwise still all beef. I can’t imagine that McDonald’s does things that much differently than my former employer did - beef IS relatively cheap, and most of the burgers tend to be loss leaders anyway for the soft drinks and fries which have a much better profit margin. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/13 "2011-09-13T11:52:05Z")
Damn! It’s 5am and now I’m dying for a McDonald’s cheeseburger & fries. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/14 "2011-09-13T12:18:08Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Which means they can sell you some other burger made out of possum meat and newspaper shreds. I’m not sure this is true. I think if it’s called a “burger” it has to contain a certain percentage of beef. IIRC, DQ had to change the name of one of their burgers, due to the high soy content, to Hunger **Buster** years ago. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/15 "2011-09-13T13:25:59Z")
> [@Reverend\_Meade](#): > > Why would they? Additives cost money. That’s the real argument right there; generally speaking, adding additives and fillers both costs money to devise the additives, figure out how to add them, and then it incurs a cost every time you add the additive to the food. Plus, agricultural commodity items like bread, ground beef, potatoes, etc.. are about the cheapest things that you can buy; adding anything to them other than other commodity items such as salt would almost certainly raise the price. The only reason I can see for a huge chain like McDonalds to use additives would be if there was a serious consistency or shelf life issue to some ingredients that the cost of adding an additive would offset the lost sales or wastage. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/16 "2011-09-13T14:45:16Z")
Why would you need preservatives for frozen beef, unless you’d be storing it for years and might need something to prevent oxidation. Where I think they could use a little chemical assistance is with the fish, which tastes “off,” i.e. fishy or rancid, about 1 out of 3 times I eat one. (That period of time covers about a year.) ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/17 "2011-09-13T15:01:16Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > I’m not sure this is true. I think if it’s called a “burger” it has to contain a certain percentage of beef. According to whom? Food labelling laws aren’t universal. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/18 "2011-09-13T15:33:30Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > I’m not sure this is true. I think if it’s called a “burger” it has to contain a certain percentage of beef. IIRC, DQ had to change the name of one of their burgers, due to the high soy content, to Hunger **Buster** years ago. Nah, the Dairy Queen big burger has been the Hungr Buster for 20-25 years now. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/19 "2011-09-13T15:41:07Z")
So as a side question: Is the trans fat found in fast food meat naturally-occuring trans fat? If, in fact, there’s partially hydrogenating unsaturated fats added, would that disqualify their “zero additive or filler” claim? Why would this meat have trans fat if nothing is added? (Unless this is naturally-occuring trans fat, hence my question). ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/20 "2011-09-13T15:56:29Z")
Most folks (including many of you in this thread) assume that McDonalds burgers are cheap because they use low quality meat. Their costs savings really come from volume: they’re the largest purchaser of beef in the country – something like 500 million pounds a year. The biggest reason why the McDonalds’ burger doesn’t taste as good as one you can make fresh at home (IMHO) is because their patties are frozen. They use only only forequarter and flank cuts. Almost all of the burgers sold in the US come from from cattle corn-fed in the U.S. The McDonald’s site has [a video](http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/food_quality/see_what_we_are_made_of/meet_our_suppliers/lopez_foods.html) that shows how they make the burger patties. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138.md?page=2)