[FACT OR FAKE #43] Are Chicken McNuggets Really Made Of This Pink Goop?
A fried, battered coating can hide a multitude of sins. (Everything tastes yummy when deep-fried, amiright?) So it's not surprising, really, that allegations of "mystery meat" have dogged McDonald's famous chicken McNuggets on and off for years.
By Sadho Ram — 02 Mar 2014, 03:13 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
It's an image that has never gone away since it was first circulated in 2010 - a huge pouring of synthetic pink soft serve-like matter falling into a cardboard box that was purportedly the filling on McDonald's Chicken McNuggets, followed by these texts:
Say hello to mechanically separated chicken. It's what all fast-food chicken is made from — things like chicken nuggets and patties. Also, the processed frozen chicken in the stores is made from it. Basically, the entire chicken is smashed and pressed through a sieve — bones, eyes, guts, and all. it comes out looking like this.
snopes.com
The pink goop freaked people out, not only because it looks weird, but because of the description that came along with it:
There's more: because it's crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color.
gizmodo.com
So, what's the reality behind this ubiquitous image of pink goop? Does it has anything to do with McDonald's? How much of it is FACT or FAKE?
The image that sparked an outrage: This photo, first circulated in 2010, purported to show the filling of McDonald's Chicken McNuggets.
Image via dailymail.co.ukFACT: There is NO pink goop in chicken Mcnuggets
It's not pink goop. It's more like a beige-ish sludge. Gross? Not entirely because ground up raw chicken meat made on a mass level will probably never look appetizing, no matter how clean the process and how delicious the result is. But at least it's good to know you're not eating alien meat?
McDonald's Canada recently addressed what's actually inside a McDonald's Chicken Nugget and it's not as exotic as we were afraid to believe.
avclub.com
It starts with a whole chicken which is sliced up and separated into their specific cuts
Chicken breast is separated and collected into a bin. The bin o' chicken is then ground up and chicken skin and seasoning is added to a meat blender.
gizmodo.com
The blended chicken is then shaped into the four official chicken nugget shapes and dabbed with a light and heavy batter. It doesn't exactly look good when it's made (as you'll see below), but it's still chicken.
takepart.com
WATCH: How chicken McNuggets are really made. The video is part of a larger campaign by McDonald’s Canada to dispel urban legends about its food.
The company is currently answering literally any question asked on its website:
McDonald's Canada is answering any questions about its food - even the tough ones. Ask yours. Get a personal reply.
mcdonalds.ca