Eating McDonald's French Fries: Do You Know What's In Them?

These are the ingredients used to make French fries in McDonalds's, United States -

Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Natural Beef Flavor [Wheat and Milk Derivatives]*, Citric Acid [Preservative], Dextrose, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (Maintain Color), Salt. Prepared in Vegetable Oil: Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil with TBHQ and Citric Acid added to preserve freshness. Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent. Contains: Wheat and Milk. *Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients.

McDonald's explains these ingredients on their website as part of their 'Our Food, Your Questions' initiative. Some of these are -

Dextrose is a natural form of sugar that helps give the fries their perfect golden color.

Sodium acid pyrophosphate is added to keep the potatoes from turning gray after freezing and before they are cooked at the restaurant.

Citric acid is added to preserve the freshness of the oil.

Dimethylpolysiloxane is also added to reduce foaming and oil splattering.

TBHQ is an antioxidant that acts as a preservative, allowing the oil to remain fresh from the supplier all the way to the restaurant.

I thought I was eating potato, salt and oil.  Boy, was I wrong.  We all want transparency in everything these days, but really, do you want to be eating something, the ingredients of which you can't even pronounce?  McDonald's French fries taste great and look fantastic, and now we know why.  I for one don't eat them, don't even go to McDonald's (haven't had a big mac in 40 years), but many people do, now that they are offering healthier food items and listing ingredients.  It's always a good idea to check the list of ingredients in anything you eat.  The rule I follow is that if it has more than three ingredients that I can't pronounce, I don't eat it.  This eliminates a lot of food items, but it also keeps me away from many foods with artificial coloring, artificial flavoring and added sugar.  Who knows what's lurking in some other fast food items?  Check it out next time, before you buy it.