McDonald’s Big Mac: The Frightening Ingredients You Eat
But, what really lies within the burger?
According to McDonald’s website, a Big Mac consists of: “100% Beef Patty, Big Mac Buns, Pasteurized Process American Cheese, Lettuce, Pickles Slices, and Onions.”
These specific ingredients do not sound alarming at all. Rather, they sound quite basic and like any traditional burger. Contrary to this thought and McDonald’s listed ingredients, theexaminer.com believes consumers should be concerned about eating a Big Mac, or at least the Big Mac buns and secret sauce.
The fast-food investigation has exposed the buns and secret sauce as being excessively saturated in chemical additives.
For instance, the Big Mac bun contains:
Absorbic acid, ammonium chloride, ammonium sulfate, azodicarbonamide, calcium carbonate, calcium peroxide, calcium propionate, calcium sulfate, dateam, enriched flour, enzymes, ethoxylated monoglycerides, guar gum, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated soybean oil, soy flour, soy lecithin, salt, sodium propionate, sesame seed, sodium stearoyl lactylate, sugar, water and wheat gluten.
And the Big Mac “secret sauce” contains:
Calcium chloride, caramel color, calcium disodium EDTA, corn syrup, diced pickles, distilled vinegar, egg yolks, extractives of paprika, garlic powder, high fructose corn syrup, mustard bran, mustard seed, onion powder, potassium sorbate, polysorbate 80, propylene glycol alginate, salt, sodium benzoate, soy lecithin, spice extractives, sugar and turmeric, vegetable protein (MSG).
Exposing the long list of additives brings transparency to what exactly is in a Big Mac.
Further, when analyzing the list, some of the ingredients that are in the Big Mac bun and sauce become alarming. In particular, ingredients such as azodicarbonamide and monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is listed as vegetable protein.
In regards, Azodicarbonamide is a chemical compound that is supposed to be used in the production of foamed plastics. However, in the food industry the chemical component is used as a food additive for flour bleaching.
The flour bleaching agent makes the bread whiter, doughier and strengthens the elasticity of the bread. However, this is not the reason why the additive is banned throughout much of the world. It is from the potential side effects of the chemical compound that makes it frightening to know that it is placed inside American foods such as the Big Mac bun.
These side effects vary from allergic reactions, cancer, bone deterioration and it has even been identified as a respiratory sensitizer, or a possible cause of asthma. However, consumers should be aware of other ingredients such as monosodium glutamate as well.
Monosodium glutamate or MSG is a flavor-enhancing additive that is found in the Big Mac secret sauce. According to the Mayo Clinic, this flavor enhancer is deemed as “generally recognized as safe” by the FDA, but remains controversial, thus the reason why MSG must be listed on the label of any food that it’s in.
Further, consumers of the MSG additive have reported side effects that include: headaches, flushing, sweating, facial pressure or tightness, numbness, tingling or burning in the face or neck, fluttering heartbeats, chest pain, nausea and weakness.
Nevertheless, removing the bun and the sauce (the two sources where most the chemical component’s lie) of the Big Mac is not a terrible meal to eat. But, with all the chemical components and excessive additives, this 550-calorie burger becomes detrimental to consume on a frequent basis.
For a healthy alternative, take a look at the Battle of the Burgers segment in the Food Chain.
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