The 19 Ingredients in McDonald’s Fries – Including a Form of Silicone Found in Silly Putty
Ever wonder what makes up highly popular fast food, such as McDonald’s chicken nuggets or french fries? If the fast food giants recently launched ‘transparency campaign’ tells us anything, it’s that the public is increasingly demanding truth and change. But what McDonald’s ‘truth campaign’ isn’t telling us is that much of its food is lathered in questionable, health-compromising ingredients.
In the most recent transparency video from McDonald’s, Grant Imahara explains that there are 19 ingredients in America’s favorite fries, one of which is polydimethylsiloxane, which is used in the production of silly putty. This seemingly ‘essential’ french fry-Silly Putty ingredient has been making headlines, and I can tell you that it won’t be the last headline you see.
During his ‘investigation,’ he found that dimethylpolysiloxane is used in the making of McDonald’s fries along with a petrol-based chemical called tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ). While anyone might immediately suspect that these ingredients may pose a hazard (and you wouldn’t be wrong), Grant reassures viewers that these are both safe additives used for perfectly good reasons.
You can view the video below to see McDoanld’s segment on how its french fries are made, taking a tour through a McDonald’s factory.
Dimethylpolysiloxane is added for safety reasons to prevent cooking oil from foaming, while tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) is applied as a food preservative. Can’t have fries that don’t last a few years, right?
Here are some of the questions and answers McDonald’s uses in an attempt to sway public opinion. Unfortunately, it doesn’t touch on the issues that are leading to a loss in profits for the mega-corp.
Of course finding such ingredients in the fast food giant’s french fries isn’t so surprising – much of McDonald’s’ food is tainted in more than one way. For example, containing over 70 ingredients, the McDonald’s sought after McRib is full of surprises — including ‘restructured meat’ technology that includes traditionally-discarded animal parts brought together to create a rib-like substance. It also contains a little-known flour-bleaching agent known as azodicarbonamide.
What do you think? Are these the reasons why McDonald’s is facing recent public rejection? It seems the fast food giant is attempting to make some changes, though maybe not fast enough.
Yummy.
If tHey are mixing cow’s milk AND beef meat in the same product, then it is NOT kosher!!
Why aren’t kosher-ites raising a giant stink??
Because they probably don’t eat McDonald’s in the first place..
No wonder McDonald’s, french fries taste so good!! I have a Micky D’s right across the street from me and it is amazing to see the number of people who go in and out of the place for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Nobody seems to be cooking any more.
Oh good grief. It takes a total of 2-4 ingredients to make fries: potatoes and oil for frying being the only two which are actually necessary. The optional ones are salt and maybe lemon juice at the preparation stage to prevent any browning that might happen if they aren’t quick enough to blanch. The oils they use are horrendous. Nobody should be eating that crap. No friggin wonder people who eat fast food all the time are usually sick and/or overweight (or will become that way given enough time).
God you’re stupid.
Oh? Well, thank GOD we have you around to point that out, eh? ROFLMAO.
lul, my parents who are x hippies find themselves eating this sometimes… despite being way better cooks than i am. Take it from me. Move south, if not just for the food.
I understand your concerns about unhealthy chemicals being added to food, and I also understand that McDonald’s food is not what would be considered healthy; however, I do have a question. Why are these chemicals you have mentioned bad for you? Just because a compound is an ingredient in things like silly putty or petroleum does not make it inherently unhealthy. Could you give (proven) statistics stating why these compounds/chemicals are bad for us?
I am not trying to be controversial, and I believe in taking care of your body by eating healthy; but I have read several articles that say food is unhealthy (seemingly) simply because some ingredient/ingredients is/are found elsewhere. Obviously, that is not the case; nor, do I believe, that is what the authors are trying to state.
Silicone is linked to cancer, and immune system failure -Chem major, med school student
Really? Where’s your evidence for that? Oh, there is none… how interesting. Chem major? Med school student? Doubtful. Although, considering the crap that our colleges are generating each year I wouldn’t be surprised.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydimethylsiloxane#Safety_and_environmental_considerations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siloxane
To be sure those are not peer-reviewed studies. Could you link to ONE peer-reviewed study, not a sensationalized story that simply say “might,” “could,” “possibly.” I couldn’t find one.
I went to McD’s once. Ordered a quarter-pounder without cheese. I took one bite, gasped, and dropped it on the ground for my dog. He sniffed it and turned to walk back to the car. I never went near a McD’s again.
and that burger was albert einstein
It’s a shame McDonalds is forcing people to eat their food…. Dopes.
My husband’s mouth and gums swell and turn bright red after eating McDonald’s fries. He asked what kind of oil were they cooked in at the local McDonald’s since these are the only fries that create this swelling and redness. When We saw a McDonald’s video last year it showed that TBHQ was the last additive before leaving the initial partial cook & prep facility. We stay away from TBHQ since it’s a food additive in some prepared foods today. This article says that TBHQ is added at the restaurant serving customers. Wonder which way is right or is it at both? Some of these questions asking for facts regarding proof of cancer from ingredients are the opposite of what should be asked. When ingredients are put into our food which children and adults eat, what approval hoops are required? Since Big Pharma and drug manufacturers only use studies that promote approval and the negative studies aren’t used, then hoops for food ingredient approval could be no better of a safety for the public.
Dietitians have told me that if the words are long and you have no idea what they are, in the ingredients, your body won’t know either, so they won’t be digested. Toxins then are stored as fat and aren’t processed through the body, since the ingredients aren’t recognized there either. Europe, the U.K. and more countries don’t permit GMOs, and toxic ingredients in their countries. When American’s get wise and don’t buy toxic foods, they will disappear. America makes foods that stay looking fresh for 10 plus years and we eat this. The production of foods that Last this long surely makes more money from a batch, since it “LOOKS” Fresh…. It’s all about money…. More Money from less production, ” What could be better?
Anti-Mickey Dee’s is so trite. If you don’t like it, go ahead and eat at your local Chipotle or Thai restaurant and get E. Coli.