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Potatoes + 18 Additives = McDonald's Fries

McDonald's is sticking to their pledge to be more transparent about their foods.

The fast-food giant released a video detailing how their french fries are made. It's part of the "Our food. Your questions" campaign.

Mythbusters co-host Grant Imahara follows the fry process backwards from restaurant to potato field.

So yes, the fries are made of real potatoes, but they pick up a few additives on their way to the drive-thru window.

Dextrose homogenizes the color of the fries, while sodium acid pyrophosphate keeps the color from graying once frozen. The potatoes are partially fried before making it to the restaurant in a combination of canola, soybean and hydrogenated soybean oils.

Other additives --18 if you don't count potatoes as an ingredient -- keep the fries looking and tasting consistent, as Imahara explains in a companion video. (Technically three of the oils are repeated -- canola, soybean, and hydrogenated soybean oils are combined with corn oil to create the oil blend the fries are cooked in once they arrive at your local McD's.)

Other videos in this series include a trip inside a beef processing facility and how the McRib is really made.

Read More:



  • McDonald's reveals what goes into its french fries (Mashable)
  • Our food. Your questions. (McDonald's)


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