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All McNuggets not created equal
All McDonald’s nuggets are not created equal. U.S. McNuggets not only contain more calories and fat than their British counterparts, but also chemicals not found across the Atlantic. CNN investigated the differences after receiving a blog comment asking about them. American McNuggets (190 calories, 12 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat for 4 pieces) contain the chemical preservative tBHQ, tertiary butylhydroquinone, a petroleum-based product. They also contain dimethylpolysiloxane, “an anti-foaming agent” also used in Silly Putty. By contrast, British McNuggets (170 calories, 9 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat for 4 pieces) lists neither chemical among its ingredients. “I would certainly choose the British nuggets over the American” says Ruth Winter, author of “A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives.” McDonald’s says the differences are based on the local tastes: In the United States, McNuggets are coated and then cooked, in the United Kingdom, they are cooked and then coated. As a result, the British McNuggets absorb less oil and have less fat. "You would find that if you looked at any of our core food items. You'd see little, regional differences," says Lisa McComb, who handles global media relations for McDonald's, which has more than 32,000 restaurants in 117 countries. "We do taste testing of all our food items on an ongoing basis." One apparent difference is only a matter of labeling, according to McComb. U.K. McNuggets list ground celery and pepper, which are labeled simply as "spices" in the United States, she says. Marion Nestle, a New York University professor and author of “What to Eat,” says the tertiary butylhydroquinone and dimethylpolysiloxane in the McNuggets probably pose no health risks. As a general rule, though, she advocates not eating any food with an ingredient you can’t pronounce. Dimethylpolysiloxane is used as a matter of safety to keep the oil from foaming, McComb says. The chemical is a form of silicone also used in cosmetics and Silly Putty. A review of animal studies by The World Health Organization found no adverse health effects associated with dimethylpolysiloxane. TBHQ is a preservative for vegetable oils and animal fats, limited to .02 percent of the oil in the nugget. One gram (one-thirtieth of an ounce) can cause "nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse," according to “A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives.” In 2003, McDonald’s launched smaller, all-white-meat McNuggets after a federal judge dubbed the food “a McFrankenstein creation of various elements not utilized by the home cook." Among the ingredients that remained in the new McNuggets: tBHQ and dimethylpolysiloxane. Christopher Kimball, the founder and publisher of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and host of the syndicated cooking show America’s Test Kitchen, says he suspects these chemicals are required for the nuggets to hold their shape and texture after being extruded into nugget-shaped molds. “The regulations in Europe, in general, around food are much stricter than the U.S.,” Kimball says.
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love. Recent Comments
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I presume Marion Nestle either does NOT eat carrots OR has learned to pronounce betacarotene.
A six year old should be capable of pronouncing beta-carotene. My rule of thumb is to not eat POISON or CHEMICALS or JUNK.
Drake LaDue – if I recall right, mercury was pulled from thermometers (replaced by red-colored alchohol) BEFORE Love Canal. Ever see the film clip of the people having what looks to be a family reunion dinner in the midst of the DDT spray?? Chilling. BUT, tell people something is safe and "they" WILL find a way to overuse it.
@ MARE
Ever heard of packing your own meals before travelling?
People really need to wake up. With half an ounce of time management skills, fast foods will always fall second to more convenient, cheaper and healthier options. And people who think salad is the only healthy food...you really need to open your mind a bit. A peanut butter sandwich, an apple, a nice wrap...
Anyway, the "freedom protector" idea that everybody should be responsible for choosing what they eat would work in the ideal conditions of
A) Full disclosure of ingredients and their medical implications by the corporations
B) Educated masses
C) Fair trade incentives and fair prices without favoring genetically modified produce or allowing lobbyism culture.
MMMMM I love McNuggets!! This article just made me hungry for some McNuggets dunked in a generous amount of BBQ sauce! BTW I can pronounce all of those ingrediants and I am not a chemist.
To each his own! I know they're not healthy but when I eat them I also know I am treating myself to something I really like regardless of health. Most of the time I eat pretty healthy food but sometimes I have to treat myself or I would binge on greasy fried food more often.
Whoops I misspelled ingredients! Before everyone flames me be aware it was just a silly typo. That happens sometimes.
The comment that is the most valid and helpful is the one conerning the AMOUNTS imbibed with a serving of nuggets. In order to put oneself as risk, one would have to eat the McNuggets around the clock 24/7 based on the gram weights of the suspected "chemicals".
I think McD just needs to change. If people don't care about there health, fine. But those of us who do and can't be super moms and need a drive thru ever now-and-again ... what options do we have? You have to prepack or for a healthy option get out of the car and get Subway ... but what about those sleeping kids ... wake them?!? Alas ... my husband thinks McD's could open a second restaurant and call if McD's Green (or a seperate menu) and do local produce and preparation and that just as many people would eat it; I tend to think this would be try of your home here in the Seattle area. I will finish with this, we ate a McD's in the Polish country side and when we walked in we could smell the bread baking; we could taste the freshness all around ... it was the BEST McD's I'd ever had. They claim the European food has only minimal differences ... but why are those differences the ones that count?!?
... If the pronunciation rule were followed then I get the people that I used to wait on in different restaurants who pronounced 'chicken fajitas' as 'chicken Fuh-GYi-tas' and 'foccacia' as 'Foh-ca-ca' will just have to pick something else.
I feel bad for any ethnic restaurants if that's the case lol.
It's a very ignorant way to look at the food you're eating, ie if the person isn't knowledgable enough to know what it is and is encouraged to stay away from something they can't say, do you really think they'll try to learn what it really is?
Didn't think so.
Added chemicals should not be a danger to heatlh as long as you're not ingesting them on a regular basis. McDonald's was originally intended and still is intended to be a convenient, occasional and quick meal alternative (fast food), not a cheap alternative to taking the time and work to make your own meal. The danger from ingestion of Tertiary butylhydroquinone (tBHQ) and dimethylpolysiloxane on an occasional basis is far outweighed by the danger of regularly consuming McDonald menu items that are high in fat.
Each person is responsible for learning howto protect and maintain their health through (among other things) proper nutrition. Responsibility is a characteristic of growing up. This is why children and irresponsi ble adults should be allowed to eat at McDonalds without being accompanied by a responsible adult.
I try not to allow anything from McDonalds within 50' of me.
Gardein Crispy Tenders are REAL FOOD:
http://www.gardein.com/products.php?t=frozen&p=4
For all those smarties who can pronouce those chemical names – Pronounce away and eat...You will be DEAD before the rest of us, and frankly, that is a good thing! Weed out all the arrogance!
Well, as long as everyone knows how to pronounce cyanide, the world is going to be amazing!
Super size my double order! I love plastic in my food.
http://911essentials.com
Yuck!
It's called natural selection. Let the stupid people poison themselves, thus removing themselves from the gene pool.
Iworked at McD for 2 years in my late teens, when I should have been at the peak of healthiness. Looking back, I have never been more unhealthy than I was during that time-getting free and/or discounted food. Since then, I have educated myself on proper nutrition and the dangers of chemicals and additives and never been better. At worst, I catch a cold every two years. Don't trust the government to tell you what is safe or healthy, trust nature. The further a food is from it's natural state, the worse it is.
Everyone is missing the point of this article....we are being fed plastic, which when introduced into the human blood stream is a known carcinogen. How is this possibly being allowed by the FDA, what's the reason for having an oversight agency when they perform no oversight. Boycott Mc D's until they stop serving plastic with barbecue sauce.
These same two ingredients are used in the shortening at Popeye's and Chick-Fil-A. Why is this story about McDonald's? Why isn't it about the chemicals used in fast food in general? It would be more helpful to parents if this story described the widespread use of these chemicals, and gave advice on how to avoid them other than "don't eat McDonald's." I'm trying to find out, with little success, is this just an issue with shortening used with battered chicken? Is it also in shortening used for fries? Is it used at BK or Wendy's? That information would be more useful than "McNuggets are made with a silly putty chemical."
I don't eat at McDonald's as a general rule (or any fast food for that matter). From time to time I might, but as a general rule, no.
Whats hilarious is all of you sheep are discussing the rule of thumb and not the actual debate of whether these foods are safe to eat or not. quit being part of the problem and start being part of the solution. BAAA!! keep following the herd.
I love McD's when the mood suits me. I know it's terrible for me, I really don't care. I do not need more regulation on my food; there is enough regulation on everything else. Until I hear of an accredited study proving that people have died because they ate McNuggets, I'm going to consider the minuscule amounts of these chemicals as pretty much harmless. People get worked up over the silliest things sometimes.
Everyone here who thinks the FDA is actually looking out for you needs to know about how Donald Rumsfeld worked for Searle and had Aspartame pushed through when it is NOT safe. Google fluoride safety. Google aspartame safety. infowars dot com . . is a great site . . educate yourselves!! : D Good luck!! Listen to Alex Jones or something . . mainstream media are puppets of the Global Elite . . sorry CNN . . but I believe that to be true . . I'm just sayin' . . .
look iam 11 years old i cant belive ckicken mcnuggets have this stuff in it this is sooo unbelieveable I HATE MCDONALDS NOW LOLZ :[
YES ALEX JONAS I LISTEN TO HIM ALL THE TIME GET AN EDUCATE PPL DONT BE A SLAVE
Yes, I am the KING of Chemistry. I know everything about chemistry and create some of the world's greatest food preservatives.
All of you stink' poor people eat many of my creations! You have made me a rich man and for that I thank you!
Keep on keepin' on!
It's McDonald's, so why is anyone surprised? Who's supposed to make things better? Politicians? Please....
If you are stupid enough to eat those things, you deserve the extra fat and chems.
So that means that McNuggets contain ingredients used in a bouncy toy, a furniture coating and a bathtub sealant. Fortunately, my daughter never cared much for McNuggets. On the other hand, she is neither athletic, shiny or waterproof. Coincidence? (more at laughs4dads.com)
It's not that chocolates are a substitute for love. Love is a substitute for chocolate. Thanks for the great post!
The American McDonald's ingredients list also mentions "enriched bleached flour". In Germany – and I think it's also true for the rest of Europe – it is not allowed to bleach flour at all. Bleaching is only done to make bad quality flour look better. Also "enriching" is not done in Germany. Maybe it is not required because all the processing steps common in the US like washing in chlorine are not allowed at all.
Food has to meet hygienic standards without processing with ammonia and chlorine. EU meat has to have lower levels of germs without that than US meat afterwards. Tells you something about the quality in general (hygienically clean processing facilities with well-trained employees – a butcher in germany is a well-paid three-year trained profession, not a job for desperados). Feeding animals with antibiotics is also forbidden completely, which makes the germs that survive the processing much less dangerous.
i highly doubt the difference between american and british mcnuggets has to do with "local tastes." i'm willing to bet that it has to do with what the american fda and usda and whatever the british/european regulatory agencies allow to pass as food. the EU also allows gmo food to be labeled as such, so their people can make a choice as to whether or not they wish to eat it. the fda BANS the labeling of gmo foods. their reason? they say it would be too confusing for american consumers. so either they are huge liars who do not regulate the industries they are supposed to regulate (and let them get away with whatever they want), or they think the average american citizen is a moron...which is probably true.
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It's nonscientific and idiotic to add in a statement about "not eating things you can't pronounce" and try to pass that off as science. The woman said that dimethylpolysiloxane is NOT dangerous to eat. That's the science. End of story. But of course, that didn't fit with the SCARE TACTIC or corporate-hating angle of the story, so the writer threw in that little tid bit. It's idiotic to think that eating at a fast food restaurant is "healthy," but it's equally idiotic to think that what you eat at home is significantly healthier than fast food. Most people eat absolute garbage at home and sit on their butts 23 hours of the day (the other hour is spent foraging through the kitchen for junk to eat), and then blame McDonald's for their obesity.