Fast food investigation: What are the real ingredients of a Big Mac®?

Photo and nutritional data from McDonalds.com

This is an investigation into the real ingredients in fast foods in America, with this article being devoted to McDonald’s signature sandwich, the Big Mac®. According to the well known advertising jingle from the 1970’s, a Big Mac® is: “Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on sesame seed bun.” The classic McDonalds ad is available on YouTube.

According to McDonald’s web site, a Big Mac® is made of: “100% Beef Patty, Big Mac Bun, Pasteurized Process American Cheese, Big Mac Sauce, Lettuce, Pickle Slices, Onions.” Most of the fixings are pretty good and pretty straightforward until you get to the Big Mac® bun and the Big Mac® sauce. The ingredients in those two items might well be described as scary, or at least excessive.

Big Mac® Bun:
-- Enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, enzymes)
-- water
-- high fructose corn syrup
-- sugar
-- soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated soybean oil

The bun also contains 2% or less of the following:
-- salt
-- calcium sulfate
-- calcium carbonate
-- wheat gluten
-- ammonium sulfate
-- ammonium chloride
-- sodium stearoyl lactylate *
-- datem *
-- ascorbic acid*
-- azodicarbonamide*
-- mono- and diglycerides*
-- ethoxylated monoglycerides*
-- monocalcium phosphate*
-- enzymes*
-- guar gum*
-- calcium peroxide*
-- soy flour*
-- calcium propionate (preservative)
-- sodium propionate (preservative)
-- soy lecithin
-- sesame seed.

* indicates: dough conditioner
 

Big Mac® Sauce:
-- Soybean oil
-- pickle relish (which is made of:)
      -- diced pickles
      -- high fructose corn syrup
      -- sugar
      -- vinegar
      -- corn syrup
      -- salt
      -- calcium chloride
      -- xanthan gum
      -- potassium sorbate (preservative)
      -- spice extractives
      -- polysorbate 80
-- distilled vinegar
-- water
-- egg yolks
-- high fructose corn syrup
-- onion powder
-- mustard seed
-- salt
-- spices
-- propylene glycol alginate
-- sodium benzoate (preservative)
-- mustard bran
-- sugar
-- garlic powder
-- vegetable protein (hydrolyzed corn, soy and wheat) – fancy name for MSG
-- caramel color
-- extractives of paprika
-- soy lecithin
-- turmeric (color)
-- calcium disodium EDTA (protect flavor).

It’s interesting to note that one of the things missing from the ingredients in the buns is yeast. The main reason for adding sugar (and high fructose corn syrup, apparently) to bread dough is to give the yeast something to react with.

Overall, if you remove the bun and the sauce, you have some food of reasonably high quality. The bun and the sauce however have too many chemical components and too much salt, sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Azodicarbonamide is banned as a food additive in many parts of the world. And many people are trying to eliminate monosodium glutamate from their diets. Calling MSG “vegetable protein” is not helping American consumers watch what they eat.
If you are still interested in eating a Big Mac®, here are the nutritional details required by an FDA food label:

7.5 oz (214 g) total weight
540 total calories
260 calories from fat
29 grams of fat (45% of recommended daily allowance)
10 grams saturated fat (50% of daily allowance)
1040 mg of sodium (43% of daily allowance)
45 grams of carbohydrates (15% of daily allowance)
3 grams of fiber
9 grams of sugar
25 grams of protein

For more info: It's your life. It's your body. It's your health. Investigate everything. According the Centers for Disease Control, obesity and overweight are at epidemic proportions in the United States. Some suggest that excessive added sugars and food additives such as those outlined in this article may play a part in that epidemic. McDonalds has many healthy food choices and this article is not intended to single them out. Future articles will cover other fast food choices that Americans make. The highlighted additives are not meant indicate anything other than there is information to be found on all food additves. The Food and Drug Administration operates a database called EAFUS, which stands for "Everything Added to Food in the United States." Current status for additives can be found there. Interestingly, the status of azodicarbonamide is listed as NIL, which means "Although listed as added to food, there is no current reported use of the substance, and, therefore, although toxicology information may be available in PAFA, it is not being updated." This chemical is banned as a food additive throughout much of the world, and our own FDA does not even seem to know it is being used in the United States!