McDonald’s Shakes Up Menus By Ditching Artificial Preservatives

02 Aug 2016 --- McDonald’s USA is making big changes to its food including scrapping artificial preservatives from several menu items and only using chicken that hasn’t been treated with antibiotics. The menu shake up is the latest in a long line of changes to ‘build a better McDonald’s’ and evolve the menu to satisfy the demands of consumers who want less artificial ingredients.

McDonald’s Iconic chicken nuggets will no longer contain artificial preservatives which will also be removed from breakfast menu items including the pork sausage patties and omelet-style eggs served on McGriddles, Bagel and Biscuit breakfast sandwiches and scrambled eggs.

The fast food giant is also rolling out new buns this month that no longer contain high fructose corn syrup, including the buns used on Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, hamburgers and cheeseburgers, Filet-O-Fish and McChicken sandwiches.

The artisan rolls introduced in 2015 never contained high fructose syrup.

“More than ever, people care about their food, where it comes from, what goes into it and how it’s prepared,” says Mike Andres, president, McDonald’s USA. “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.”

Last year, McDonald’s announced plans to stop using chicken that has been treated with antibiotics and has completed this commitment earlier than anticipated.

McDonald’s had originally set out to achieve its antibiotics chicken commitment by March 2017, but through partnerships with suppliers and farmers on a large scale, the company could make the change ahead of schedule.

“I applaud the 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,” says Dr H Morgan Scott, professor of epidemiology in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology at Texas A&M University.

“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.”

This latest series of changes follows what McDonald’s did last year when it committed to sourcing 100 percent cage-free eggs by 2015 and replacing iceberg lettuce with fresh romaine, baby spinach and baby kale in its salad blends.

In June McDonald’s also added Tuscan red leaf lettuce and ribbon-cut carrot curls to salads with the freshly prepared premium salads now offering at least two and a half cups of vegetables.

Egg McMuffins no longer contain margarine and it sources milk from cows not treated with rbST, an artificial growth hormone.

“From our test kitchen to what we serve in our restaurants, we’re zeroing in on how to bring new flavors and choices to some never seen before on our menu to customers across the country,” says chef Jessica Foust, RDN director of culinary innovation, McDonald’s Corporation. “Our focus on culinary innovation at McDonald’s is essential as we continue to evolve.”