Though it’s not a regular item on their menu and only appears for a limited-time, the McDonald’s McRib has become very popular throughout the years. However, if you’ve eaten a few of the McRibs over the years, you may want to know what exactly goes in those seemingly innocent sandwiches, because it turns out that each McRib contains a long list of 70 total ingredients. Crazy!?
That’s a ton of ingredients for a sandwich advertised as “a McRib Pork Patty, bun, barbecue sauce, pickle slices and slivered onions.” The bun alone consists of 34 of those ingredients, with such additives as Ammonium Sulfate that’s been used in soil fertilizers.
MCRIB INGREDIENT LIST INCLUDES:
MCRIB PORK PATTY
Ingredients: Pork, Water, Salt, Dextrose, Rosemary Extract.
BUN
Ingredients: Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Sugar, Yeast, Soybean Oil, Contains 2% or Less: Corn Meal, Salt, Wheat Gluten, Mono and Diglycerides, Enzymes, Ascorbic Acid, Calcium Propionate (Preservative).
SOYBEAN OIL
These are highly unstable, highly inflammatory oils. New research shows soybean oil not only leads to obesity and diabetes, but could also lead to neurological conditions like autism, Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, and depression.
MCRIB SAUCE
Ingredients: Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Tomato Paste, Distilled Vinegar, Molasses, Natural Smoke Flavor, Modified Food Starch, Salt, Sugar, Spices, Soybean Oil, Xanthan Gum, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Chili Pepper, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Caramel Color, Beet Powder.
SODIUM BENZOATE
Studies found that sodium benzoate can increase your risk of inflammation, oxidative stress, obesity, ADHD, and allergies. It may also convert to benzene, a potential carcinogen.
CARAMEL COLOR
Caramel coloring is perhaps the worst widely consumed food coloring in the world. The manufacture of caramel color can often lead to the formation of a carcinogen called methylimidazole, which was established as a cancer-causing chemical in 2007.
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP
High Fructose corn syrup can cause insulin resistance, obesity, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Recent studies also found that fructose damages communication between brain cells and increases toxic molecules in the brain. A long-term use of high-fructose diminishes the brain’s ability to learn and remember information.
PICKLE SLICES
Ingredients: Cucumbers, Water, Distilled Vinegar, Salt, Calcium Chloride, Alum, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Natural Flavors, Polysorbate 80, Extractive of Turmeric (Color).
POLYSORBATE 80
Polysorbate 80 has been associated with various adverse events. In fact, even small concentrations of undigested polysorbate 80 may lead to Crohn’s disease.
Well, there you have it – all the ingredients in a McDonald’s McRib sandwich. Would you still eat it?