What’s In McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets? Now You Can Find Out

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You’ve likely seen the picture of coiled bright pink goop that was rumored to be the filler in McDonald’s chicken nuggets.

Gross. But before you toss your McNuggets in the trash, McDonald’s says it uses only boneless white meat chicken to create its popular nuggets. That’s just one of many rumors and myths about the quality of McDonald’s food that the fast food chain wants to put to rest, once and for all.

McDonald’s recently launched a tell-all social media campaign dubbed “Our Food. Your Questions.” Faced with slumping sales in the U.S., McDonald’s is attempting to be more transparent about what actually goes into its food, inviting questions from consumers via Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and other social media.

One question directed at McDonalds is “Why doesn’t your food rot?” CNN Money said the question is likely a result of an experiment conducted in the documentary “Super Size Me,” which showed that several McDonald’s products kept in jars didn’t seem to decompose very quickly, if at all.

McDonald’s is quick to point out that its food can, and does, rot – under the right circumstances, of course.

Food needs moisture in the air for mold to form. Without it, food will simply dry out – sort of like bread left out on a counter overnight to make croutons for stuffing.
You might have seen experiments which seem to show no decomposition in our food. Most likely, this is because the food has dehydrated before any visible deterioration could occur.

The fast food behemoth addresses a number of other questions, including:

  • Do you use pink slime in your beef? Not anymore, McDonald’s says. Though it did use pink slime from 2004 to 2011.
  • Do your buns contain the same chemicals used to make yoga mats? Surprisingly, yes. Apparently the ingredient, azodicarbonamide (ADA), is used in all but McDonald’s artisan bun, to keep the bread texture consistent. ADA, McDonald’s says, is also used in some non-food products, like yoga mats.
  • What is the healthiest meal I can buy? “Our menu offers a variety of options,” McDonald’s said, although it didn’t identify any specific menu item.

According to NPR, the fast food giant’s media blitz may be all for naught. Critics say McDonald’s needs to rethink its core menu.

“Most people simply don’t think of McDonald’s as a healthy place to eat, despite its efforts to offer more menu choices,” Civil Eats co-founder Naomi Starkman writes. In a world where farm-to-table increasingly dominates eating ethos, McDonald’s is still essentially serving up “factory-farm-to-table,” she says.

“The truth is,” she writes, “McDonald’s is facing a marketplace where people no longer want fast food, but good food served fast.”

What do you think of McDonald’s new social media campaign? Share your comments below or on our Facebook page.

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