McDonald’s Is Testing New Preservative Free Chicken McNuggets

McDonald’s, one of the world’s largest fast food chains, may be getting just a little bit healthier by adapting their popular chicken nuggets recipe to include more identifiable ingredients and remove preservatives.

Going Preservative Free

In an announcement, McDonald’s has said that it is testing a version of chicken McNuggets without artificial preservatives. In two specific examples, the new McNuggets will not contain sodium phosphates, which are an additive that keeps chicken moist and will not be fried in oil containing TBHQ, another artificial preservative.

Instead, the new McNuggets contain ingredients similar to what one may find in their own kitchen like lemon juice solids and rice starch.
McDonald’s hopes that these modifications will make nuggets which “parents can feel good” (about giving them to their children).
Currently, the company is testing the new recipes in 140 stores across Oregon and Washington and is gauging customer responses.

McDonald’s Goes Healthy

Over the past few years, McDonald’s has been adapting various recipes and practices to create healthier fare, falling in line with a growing demand for healthier food.

In Germany, last year, for instance, it began work on an ‘organic’ burger which sourced all its ingredients from organic farms. Also last year, it adapted its grilled chicken recipe to include more recognisable ingredients and remove unfamiliar ingredients like maltodextrin (used to increase browning) and sodium phosphates).

Additionally, the brand’s Twitter handle has been sharing mini-videos about how McDonald’s fare is made; highlighting that it is freshly prepared.

What other changes can you predict McDonald’s will make as it tries to keep up with a larger demand for healthy food?