McDonald’s admits using meat with household cleaning chemical in it

McDonald’s is changing the recipe it uses for its burgers in the US, after a lengthy campaign by TV chef and food activist Jamie Oliver, reports the Daily Mail.

The fast food juggernaut used ammonium hydroxide — an additive typically found in household cleaning products to kill bacteria — in its US meat. Oliver calls it “pink slime.”

On his show Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, Oliver said that the beef producers use the additive to turn beef that’s normally made into dog food and wash it until it’s able to be eaten by humans.

McDonald’s denies that Oliver had anything to do with it, saying that it the decision “was not related to any particular event but rather to support our effort to align our global beef raw material standards.”

So, what’s this mean for McDonald’s?

It’s making changes to its supply chain. The reason McDonald’s US meat has ammonium hydroxide in it is that its beef supplier, Beef Products Inc., uses it. Now, the chain has decided to “remove BPI products from the McDonald’s system.”

McDonald’s doesn’t use the additive in its meat in many other countries, such as Canada and the UK. Arch-rival Burger King and Taco Bell earlier caved to Oliver’s campaign too, and seem to have transitioned well.

A big question for McDonald’s massive consumer base is: will the burgers taste the same?

Read story: http://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-is-changing-its-burger-recipe-to-take-the-pink-slime-out-of-its-meat-2012-1