If there is indeed a fast food franchise that makes much talk about it, it is McDonald's. After the scandals of the substances contained in the Big Mac and the beef of the burgers, now it is the turn of the fries. Now, this time, it is the franchise itself that wanted to mediatize the method of manufacturing its products. To the surprise of the public, McDonald's fries contain much more than potatoes!
As part of the "Our Food, Your Questions" communication campaign, designed to look after the image of McDonald's and be transparent, two videos were launched online more than a year ago detailing the manufacturing process Of the fries proposed by this fast food leader.
The videos made a lot of buzz, especially as they were hosted by Grant Imahara, the star of Mythbusters, a television popularization program that has been a huge success in the United States. Thing that brings more credibility to the operation of communication of the franchise, but the feedback from the public has not been positive!
What are McDonald's fries hiding?
To prepare fries at home we usually do not need more than two or three ingredients. McDonald's, on the other hand, uses more components to prepare its famous crispy fries and to the perfect shape.
As one video shows, making McDonald's fries requires 19 ingredients, most of which are food additives. And rest assured the potatoes are part of it!
The following is a non-exhaustive list of the ingredients used:
- Potatoes
- A natural flavor of beef
- Hydrogenated soybean oil
- Citric acid
- Wheat Protein Hydrolysates
- Dextrose
- Milk hydrolysates
- The polydimethylsiloxane
- Soybean oil
- Tertiary butylhydroquinone (BHQT)
- Dimethylpolysiloxane
- Corn oil
- Salt
- Sodium pyrophosphate
The most pointed ingredients of this list are:
Tertiary butylhydroquinone (BHQT)
It is a food additive, classified as an antioxidant, added to fats and frying oils. It is also known as E319.
The pure form of this substance is considered to be harmful and toxic when inhaled, ingested or absorbed through the skin. It is even said to be probably carcinogenic, a precursor of tumors in the stomach in animals and can also cause damage to DNA if used in high doses. Only the doses used in the agro-food sector are presented as harmless.
Hydrogenated soybean oil:
Hydrogenated soybean oil, like all other hydrogenated oils, is considered harmful. These oils undergo a hydrogenation process in order to make them more stable and to keep them longer. Result: the essential fatty acids they contain turn into another form; Trans fats.
This particular type of fat is not good for health. Indeed, trans fatty acids increase the level of bad cholesterol in the blood and reduce that of good cholesterol. They are also involved in the development of other diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity.
Dimethylpolysiloxane:
Dimethylpolysiloxane (E900) is an anti-foaming, anti-emulsifying and anti-caking additive used in food, especially in cooking oils to prevent splashing.
This substance is classified as possibly carcinogenic and may sometimes contain formaldehyde, a compound described as a human carcinogen.
Through this video, the McDonald's franchise perfectly assumes the ingredients it uses to make its fries. A desire for transparency, although the quantities of the ingredients used are not specified. And it is precisely this precise point that causes us to worry. As mentioned above, some ingredients may be toxic when used in high doses.
Note, however, that the recipe for French fries may vary from country to country, depending on the requirements and recommendations of food monitoring agencies. In France, for example, the franchise declared that only vegetable oils were used for cooking French fries, without adding flavoring agents. On the other hand, it claimed to use food additives, in line with European Commission standards.
So, caution is required! And not only with respect to McDonald's fries but also all the fast food products rich