OAK BROOK, Ill. – McDonald’s USA is making a few changes to its list of ingredients that will impact nearly half the food on the burger chain’s menu.
The company said it will remove artificial preservatives from some items including its Chicken McNuggets, Pork sausage patties, omelet-style eggs served on McGriddles, Bagel and Biscuit breakfast sandwiches and the scrambled eggs on breakfast platters also are now free of artificial preservatives.
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| Mike Andres, president, McDonald’s USA |
“More than ever, people care about their food — where it comes from, what goes into it and how it’s prepared,” Mike Andres, president, McDonald’s USA, said in a statement. “We’re making changes to ensure the food we’re proud of is food our customers love and feel good eating, and we remain committed to our continuing food journey at McDonald’s.”
Additionally, McDonald’s will begin using buns that don’t contain high fructose corn syrup. This includes buns used on Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, hamburgers and cheeseburgers, Filet-O-Fish and McChicken sandwiches. The company noted that its Artisan roll launched in 2015 never contained high fructose corn syrup.
“From our test kitchens to what we serve in our restaurants, we’re zeroing in on how to bring new flavors and choices, some never seen before on our menu, to customers across the country,” said Chef Jessica Foust, RDN, director of culinary innovation, McDonald's Corp. “Our focus on culinary innovation at McDonald’s is essential as we continue to evolve.”
In other McDonald’s menu news, the company made good on its commitment to only serve chicken not treated with antibiotics important to human medicine nearly a year ahead of schedule. The company set its original deadline for March 2017. McDonald’s credited “a collaborative effort with its suppliers and farmers on a large scale” for achieving the milestone ahead of schedule. Now, every chicken item McDonald’s serves is made from chicken not treated with antibiotics important to human medicine; although the company noted that farmers still use ionophores, a class of antibiotics that are not prescribed to people, to maintain healthy chicken flocks.
“I applaud efforts such as those undertaken by McDonald’s in close collaboration with its suppliers and poultry farmers, to greatly reduce the use of medically important antibiotics in its animal agricultural food supply chain,” said Dr. H Morgan Scott, professor of epidemiology in the Dept. of Veterinary Pathobiology at Texas A&M Univ. “McDonald’s and its suppliers have worked to identify appropriate alternatives for sustaining broiler flock health while implementing protocols to ensure that animal welfare is not compromised. Sourcing decisions by industry leaders such as McDonald’s have great potential to positively influence appropriate antibiotic stewardship in food animal sectors around the world.”
