McDonald's dropping some artificial preservatives from McNuggets
In good news for anyone who can't resist the odd McDonald's blowout, the burger chain has said it's going to ditch some of the more unsavory ingredients in its meals.
Chicken McNuggets are set to lose some artificial preservatives, while high-fructose corn syrup is being taken out of the burger buns. McDonald's started testing the new McNuggets in 140 locations this past March.
Which artificial preservatives are actually going from the nuggets, McD's rep Becca Hary couldn't immediately tell the Associated Press, but it's a step in the right direction, right?
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The changes come as the chain tries to win back customers after three straight years of declining guest counts.
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Other outlets have also tried to make their food more like real food in recent years, the Associated Press reports. Dunkin' Donuts, for example, is adding more egg to its egg patty, which is currently a composite of egg whites, water, egg yolks and modified corn starch, while Taco Bell last year pledged to replace "black pepper flavor" with actual black pepper.
Subway, meanwhile, has introduced "rotisserie chicken" and "carved turkey" that have more texture and look more natural than its regular chicken strips and turkey.
McDonald's has been planning the move for a while. In 2014, Mike Andres, head of McDonald's U.S., said, "We need to think about our ingredient labels as being much smaller." The company also switched to butter from margarine for the Egg McMuffins, started searing burgers for longer, and added kale and spinach to its salad.
It's also removed chickens raised with human antibiotics from its U.S. supply chain.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
Tim Chester was Senior Editor, Real Time News in Los Angeles. Before that he was Deputy Editor of Mashable UK in London. Prior to joining Mashable, Tim was a Senior Web Editor at Penguin Random House, helping to relaunch the Rough Guides website and other travel brands. He was also a writer for Buzzfeed, GQ and The Sunday Times, covering everything from culture to tech and current affairs. Before that, he was Deputy Editor at NME.COM, overseeing content and development on the London-based music and entertainment site. Tim loves music and travel and has combined these two passions at festivals from Iceland to Malawi and beyond.
