# 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:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/61 "2011-09-16T16:05:56Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > Excluding labor, the cost of equipment to cook the burgers, the cost of the buildings, the cost of power etc. This is really not enough information to know if they are selling burgers at a loss. Gah! Thank you. Drives me nuts when people think the only costs to a food establishment is the price of the food. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/62 "2012-03-29T05:31:21Z")
Can pink slime be considered part of 100% beef? Is it used in McDonalds’ burgers? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/63 "2012-03-29T05:46:07Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Can pink slime be considered part of 100% beef? > Is it used in McDonalds’ burgers? [Not any more.](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57368380-10391704/mcdonalds-scraps-pink-slime-from-burgers/?tag=contentMain;contentBody) ---
**Author:** ![bdtbl124](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@bdtbl124](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdtbl124)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/64 "2012-03-29T05:58:11Z")
well… better look at nutrition info from the McDonald’s website before we decided whether they really use it or not. * * * [aksesoris wanita](http://www.budita.com) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/65 "2012-03-29T07:10:40Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I think people just underestimate how big a variation there is in the taste of beef. I know I did until I tasted an Angus burger. There’s also the fact that a McDonald’s burger just isn’t very much meat. A McDonald’s burger is mostly bread.The QUARTER pounder is just four ounces of beef, and that’s pre-cooked. A hamburger can’t be more than two. It’s a tiny, thin slice of a burger with almost no juice in it. It’s certainly 100% beef but it’s well done, thin, and sparing. When you eat the standard hamburger or cheeseburger you’re mostly eating bun. Even the quarter pounder is not much beef. A homemade, or a well-made restaurant burger, is a really thick, juicy patty. IT’s going to taste completely different just by virtue of the physical nature of the patty - the thickness holds in the juices for more taste and, of course, means you’re eating more beef for your bite. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/66 "2012-03-29T15:12:45Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > My understanding is that they are unhealthy, but if you avoid the quantity that exist in processed foods, it has a minimal impact. The extreme quantity one can consume of the trans fats in processed foods is staggering. Actually, naturally occurring trans fats have been [found to be healthy](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110907124359.htm); some even want the labeling changed to reflect this (and I have found it to be inconsistent; some beef products list trans fat but others don’t; a quarter pound of beef has about [1.33 grams of trans fat](http://www.fitsugar.com/Skinny-Natural-Trans-Fats-219122)): > [@](#): > > According to a scientific review conducted by Spencer Proctor, along with Canadian and international colleagues, natural trans fats produced by ruminant animals such as dairy and beef cattle are not detrimental to health. In fact, they show significant positive health effects and some evidence even links these natural trans fats to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Note that artificial trans fats have been linked to the exact opposite effects (increased risk of CVD and cancer). ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/67 "2012-03-29T15:34:40Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The QUARTER pounder is just four ounces of beef, and that’s pre-cooked. “Just”? How many ounces would you expect from a quarter-pounder? Five? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/68 "2012-03-29T15:36:46Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > “Just”? How many ounces would you expect from a quarter-pounder? Five? But that’s my point. The Quarter Pounder is advertised as a BIG burger, but it’s not. It’s a very modest amount of beef. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/69 "2012-03-29T15:48:27Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > A _homemade_, or a well-made restaurant burger, is a really thick, juicy patty. That probably depends on your home. As a young tyke, I remember helping my Mom prepare burger patties - we’d weigh out the beef from the grocery store package, squeeze them flat inside plastic sheets made from used milk bags, stack the patties, and freeze them, so that you could just grab some patties for a quick meal. Which, when I say it that way, sounds like it’s not any better than McDonalds at home. 😃 And yes, when we weighed out the beef, it was to the 4 ounce line on the kitchen scale - a quarter of a pound. I wouldn’t call that a small burger, but ‘modest’ might fit. Certainly, it’s not a match in size for a burger that I’d get at Kelsey’s or Elephant & Castle. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/70 "2012-03-29T15:56:11Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > But that’s my point. The Quarter Pounder is advertised as a BIG burger, but it’s not. It’s a very modest amount of beef. Not by the fast food standards when it was introduced. The biggest McD’s burgers at the time were Big Mac and the doubles, both of which used two 1/10 pound patties, or .20 lbs total. The quarter pounder bumped that up to .25 and made it a single patty. All pre-cooked measurements, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/71 "2012-03-29T16:27:01Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > But that’s my point. The Quarter Pounder is advertised as a BIG burger, but it’s not. It’s a very modest amount of beef. Do you consider the original Big Gulp to be a “very modest” amount of liquid, simply because there are now bigger drinks? ---
**Author:** ![Sethcrzygy86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Sethcrzygy86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sethcrzygy86)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/72 "2012-03-29T16:51:48Z")
Snopes on fast food meat > **[Does Taco Bell Serve 'Grade D But Edible' Meat?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/taco-bell-grade-d-meat/)** > > A rumor held that prisons, school cafeterias, Taco Bell, and other fast food restaurants serve "Grade D but edible" meat. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/73 "2012-03-29T17:14:56Z")
Fillers are as defined. To my mind they are like the calcium carbonate and silicates we put in the paint and plastic when I worked in those industries. They did little by provide a cheap source of volume. You can see what you painted over with the white paint? Too much calcium carbonate and not enough of the more expensive titanium dioxide. Loads of calcium carbonate does contribute to the fire resistance of electrical insulation. Stone, other than coal, burns poorly. What might I find if I read the ingredient list of the hot dogs from Aldi’s I just had for lunch? 100% beef? Maybe chicken, mechanically deboned chicken. Soy? While those selling 100% meat hot dogs might call it filler, still it is a source of nutrients. Maybe even some corn? As I understand it, corn and beans contribute a different mix of amino acids helping meet our needs. Are they fillers? Trans fats. No, they are not widely found naturally, but do occur. Perhaps they have been the problem with beef fat all along. Now once some trans oleic acid gets in my blood stream, how can my body tell it it came from a cow or Crisco? Binders? Years ago wasn’t there a problem gum carrageen they were using as a binder? People were having allergic attacks. Ah the fallacy of the safety of ''natural products. Been no trouble with sodium polyacrylate or hydroxyethyl cellulose. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138/74 "2012-03-29T18:11:58Z")
> [@thelabdude](#): > > Trans fats. No, they are not widely found naturally, but do occur. Perhaps they have been the problem with beef fat all along. Now once some trans oleic acid gets in my blood stream, how can my body tell it it came from a cow or Crisco? There are many, many different kinds of fats, all determined by how many carbon and hydrogen atoms they have (and where the latter are located for unsaturated fat); the trans fat in beef and milk is [conjugated linoleic acid](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjugated_linoleic_acid) (mostly [rumenic acid](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumenic_acid), one of at least 28 different isomers, the natural form is cis-9, trans-11 while supplements may use other forms, some linked to adverse effects). Incidentally, it is also found in human milk as [vaccenic acid](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccenic_acid), presumably because it provides survival benefits. Some of the benefits linked to these include: > [@](#): > > In 1979, researchers from the University of Wisconsin applied a beef extract to mice skin. The mice were then exposed to a strong carcinogen. When the researchers counted the number of tumors developed by the mice 16 weeks later, they found, to their surprise, that the mice exposed to the beef extract had 20% fewer tumors… > > …Although CLA is best known for its anticancer properties, researchers have also found that the cis-9, trans-11 form of CLA can reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease and help fight inflammation. > > …In 2012, NIMML conducted a human clinical trial administering 6 grams/day of a CLA supplement to Crohn’s disease patients and reported a remarkable improvement in Crohn’s disease activity index and quality of life measures… > > …A 2008 study at the University of Alberta suggests that vaccenic acid feeding in rats over 16 weeks resulted in lowered total cholesterol, lowered LDL cholesterol and lower triglyceride levels. The researchers are preparing to conduct further research, including human clinical trials. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mcdonalds-really-use-zero-additives-and-fillers/596138.md?page=3)