We've all known for a long time McRibs are not healthy, but when an image posted to Reddit claiming to be a photo of a frozen McRib went viral, plenty of McDonald's customers began reevaluating their love for the pork sandwich while others swore off the restaurant entirely.
One of those people was Wes Bellamy. He saw the image below on Twitter and encouraged his followers not to eat at McDonald's.
That definitely doesn't look very appetizing. That's why McDonald's is looking to dispel some of those myths (with the help of a Mythbuster no less) in a new video series which takes viewers behind the scenes into the McDonald's food production process, in this case looking at how exactly the McRib is made and what all goes into it.
McDonald's brought Bellamy to Oklahoma City, home of McDonald's U.S. pork supplier Lopez Foods, where McRibs are made. Along with Grant Imahara of Mythbusters fame, the two are given a grand tour of the facility, learning about the boneless pork shoulder that is the primary ingredient in the McRib patty. After grinding up the pork, a couple of other ingredients are added. From McDonalds.com:
"A little salt, water and dextrose (a type of sugar made from corn), are added to help the patty maintain its McRib shape and preserve its flavor. Finally, we add a small amount of preservatives - BHA, Propyl Gallate and Citric Acid, which help maintain taste."
That's it. The pieces of meat are then pressed into the McRib shape before being flash-frozen. Turns out that the image floating around the web of frozen McRibs was accurate. After learning about the process leading up to the freezing process, Bellamy doesn't seem quite as repulsed by the McRib as before.
"It's different now that I know what actually goes inside of it, and I actually know what the process is in terms of making it," he says.
While it doesn't make the 500 calorie sandwich with 26g of fat healthy by any means, it is nice to see what exactly goes into the food. Of course this is a video produced by McDonald's, but it's hard not to commend the fast food giant for shining some light on its mysterious products.
Photo: Calgary Reviews via Flickr (cropped)
