Contrary to popular belief, McDonald’s chicken nuggets are made from 100% chicken breast meat, according to the fast-food giant. But the chicken only adds up to 45% of a McNugget – as the rest of the recipe is a combination of batter, seasoning and oil.
The resulting paste goes on to become the main ingredient in many of America’s favorite mass-produced and processed meat-like foods and snacks: bologna, hot dogs, salami, pepperoni, Slim Jim-like jerkys, and of course the ever-polarizing chicken nugget, where the paste from the photo above was likely destined.
How do they make chicken nuggets? Those tasty chicken nuggets that seem like a healthier alternative to a hamburger are actually made from a pink paste that resembles strawberry frozen yogurt or bubblegum. It’s made by grinding and mechanically separating whole chickens.
Nuggets from both chains contained only 50% chicken meat at most, the rest was a mixture of cartilage, nerves, crushed bones, veins and fat. According to Dr. Richard D. deShazo, from the University of Mississippi’s Medical Center, “companies have chosen to use an artificial mix of chicken parts instead of lean meat.
Do McDonald’s nuggets have chicken?
UPDATE, 10/4/10: The story has been amended to reflect that although mass produced chicken nuggets at large may contain mechanically separated chicken, McDonald ‘s famous McNuggets no longer do contain “mechanically separated poultry as defined by the federal government. The USDA now requires foods with mechanically separated poultry …
Fooducate writes: Advertisement. Someone figured out in the 1960s that meat processors can eek out a few more percent of profit from chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows by scraping the bones 100% clean of meat. This is done by machines, not humans, by passing bones leftover after the initial cutting through a high pressure sieve.
The USDA now requires foods with mechanically separated poultry to be labeled as containing “mechanically separated chicken or turkey” in their ingredients lists. Additionally, although ” mechanically separated meat” may apply to turkey, chicken and pork, due to concerns over BSE, the federal government has held since 2004 …
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