McDonald's in the USA adds beef flavoring to their fries?

Question

"Now the fast-food chain adds “natural beef flavor” to its vegetable oil to give its fries their irresistibly meaty taste."

https://www.rd.com/article/mcdonalds-fries-ingredients/

Answer 1

McDonald's in the USA does put beef flavoring in their fries. The suppliers partially fry their potatoes in a blend of canola oil and flavorings that contain beef flavors.

https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/faq/snacks-and-sides.html#:~:text=Yes.,our%20World%20Famous%20Fries%C2%AE.

Answer 2

According to the book Fast Food Nation, Mcdonald's used to cook their french fries in beef fat to give them their iconic flavor. However, in the late 80s, and early 90s, customers were complaining about the about of saturated fats in their menu items. McDonald's changed the way they cooked their fries, moving to cook in vegetable oil. They combine canola oil, soybean oil, and hydrogenated soybean oil for cooking, and to mimic the beef flavor, they add hydrolyzed wheat and milk proteins.

https://www.wired.com/2014/07/whats-inside-mcdonalds-french-fries/

Answer 3

This is true, and you can find this on the McDonald's website. The ingredients list, containing "natural beef flavor," is as follows: "Ingredients: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Natural Beef Flavor [wheat And Milk Derivatives]*), Dextrose, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (maintain Color), Salt. *natural Beef Flavor Contains Hydrolyzed Wheat And Hydrolyzed Milk As Starting Ingredients."

https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/product/small-french-fries.html#accordion-c921f9207b-item-283bee7dbd

RATING: True

Something to note is that the term "beef flavoring" is slightly misleading. If natural beef flavor is listed, it doesn't necessarily mean actual meat was used to flavor the fries. In this article, a food chemist explains that: "Food scientists identified the amino acids found in beef, added some very common sugars — starch hydrolysate — put it in a pot, added some citric acid to drop the pH, controlled moisture content, and heated it to the same temperature as meat. Then...*poof* we have meat flavor." The McDonald's fries ingredients only lists "Hydrolyzed Wheat" and "Hydrolyzed Milk" as the starters for the beef flavor, so it is possible that they do not put any actual meat product in their fries. The article you linked slightly glosses over this point, which I thought meaningful enough to reiterate.

https://www.eater.com/2015/9/29/9410199/natural-beef-flavor-vegetarian-what-is-it

Answer 4

According to McDonald's website, they do add beef flavoring to their french fries. They use an oil blend that contains beef flavoring mixed in.

https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/faq/snacks-and-sides.html#:~:text=Yes.,and%20served%20hot%20to%20you.

Answer 5

This is true because McDonald's utilizes beef flavoring. This makes their fries not vegan, and this also makes them more addictive.

Source: https://www.rd.com/article/mcdonalds-fries-ingredients/

Comments

When looking for information to back up your fact-check, make sure to dig a bit further and go beyond the source that is included within the claim (re: rd.com).

Answer 6

According to Mcdonald's official website, their fries are contain  oil that contains beef flavoring. 

 "When our suppliers partially fry our cut potatoes, they use an oil blend that contains beef flavoring. " This quote proves that Mcdonalds supplies has fries with beef flavoring.

Source: https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/faq/snacks-and sides.html#:~:text=Yes.,our%20World%20Famous%20Fries%C2%AE. 

Answer 7

On their website McDonald's says that "when our suppliers partially fry our cut potatoes, they use an oil blend that contains beef flavoring." Though this gives McDonald's french fries their recognizable taste saying it has an "irresistibly meaty" taste is an opinion.

https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/faq/snacks-and-sides.html#:~:text=Yes.,and%20served%20hot%20to%20you.

Answer 8

Yes, McDonald's does add beef flavoring to their fries. According to an FAQ on the McDonald's website, "When our suppliers partially fry our cut potatoes, they use an oil blend that contains beef flavoring." McDonald's used beef tallow in the past and only started adding beef flavoring to vegetable oil following an ingredient change in the 90s following pressure from the National Heart Savers Assn according to an LA Times article about the organization's founder, Phil Sokolof. The beef flavoring is likely mean to emulate the taste of the original tallow-fried product.

Sources:
McDonald's FAQ: https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/faq/snacks-and-sides.html

LA Times Article about Sokolof: https://archive.ph/20141116170553/http://articles.latimes.com/2004/apr/16/local/me-sokolof16#selection-1249.23-1249.50

Answer 9

According to the official Mcdonald's website in the U.S., it is indeed true that McDonald's in the USA adds beef flavoring to their fries. The Snacks & Sides FAQs about "Do you add any type of flavor when preparing your fries? " indicates that beef flavoring is part of the oil blend used when the suppliers partially fry the cut potatoes. This process is purported to help achieve the distinctive taste of McDonald's World Famous Fries. The fries are then further cooked in McDonald's kitchens, seasoned with salt, and served hot to customers.

Source: https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/faq/snacks-and-sides.html#:~:text=When%20our%20suppliers%20partially%20fry,our%20World%20Famous%20Fries%C2%AE.