During this time of global crisis, instead of slowing down, fast-food chains are able
to rebound quicker than expected, thanks to more customers learning to adopt
3rd party delivery apps, and restaurants capitalizing on drive-thru lanes
But if you’re a fast-food lover, you might wanna look away for a moment because what we’re about
to show you might just make you swear them off altogether! Well, that isn’t necessarily a bad
thing, is it? Let’s sink our teeth into these 9 Gross Facts About Fast-food Restaurants!
What's up, fact-natics! This is Discovery Amuse, serving up your daily dose of the most
outrageous, outlandish, and out-of-this-world fun facts!
Watch out for our number 1 pick, because it might just make you think twice about that soda refill.
Girl: Hey Sam, how about a rootbeer float? We got someone down in the dumps!
#8: Subway’s Chicken
The least you could expect from a chicken sandwich is that it’s made from pure chicken,
right? Well, apparently, that’s too much to ask.
Adam: This fresh, delicious, tasty,
meaty, turkey filled cold cut combo. I eat 3 every day to help keep me strong!
Subway became the subject of speculations in 2017
when a CBC News report performed DNA testing on some of our favorite fastfood chicken sandwiches.
It was revealed that the roasted chicken strips in Subway’s sandwich
contains only 53.6 percent chicken DNA! The rest are so-called meat fillers like soy protein.
Woman: Many of the ingredients were refined starches or different names for sugar.
Lots of different names for types of sodium and different salt combinations.
Well, so much for eating fresh! The report further claims that the Subway chicken has about a quarter
less protein than home-cooked chicken, and the sodium levels are 10 times higher than normal!
But Subway reps vehemently denied the allegations, saying that their chicken
only contains 1% soy protein which is just to help stabilize the texture of their product.
Keep watching because our number 1 pick makes a good case for avoiding
soda fountains. And it’s not just about the sugar!
#7: Wendy’s Chili
I personally go to Wendy’s for the Baconator and the Classic Frosty,
but others come for a heartwarming bowl of their world-famous chili.
And who can blame them? Who doesn’t like a piping-hot bowl of left-over meat, right?
Man: Oh my god. Woman: What?
In 2015, a Reddit user who once worked as a shift manager for Wendy’s revealed that the
chili meat comes from burgers that stayed too long on the grill and are too hard or
dried-out! But before you get all grossed out, come to think of it, there’s really nothing wrong
with repurposing burger scraps. The no-waste policy is actually pretty commendable!
However, the Huffington Post once reported that to prevent their chili from caking or
clumping together, the fast food chain uses a sprinkle of silicon dioxide! Yup, the same
mineral that can be found in sand! And apparently, it’s common practice in the restaurant industry!
#6: Styrofoam Cups
These white little cups are a staple in fast food chains because not only are they cheap,
they also provide better insulation. But more and more environment-conscious companies
are veering away from these styrofoam cups because they’re not really biodegradable. Plus,
they’re actually dangerous to your health!
The material used in these coffee cups contains the chemical called styrene,
which has been linked to various illnesses such as vision and hearing loss,
impaired memory, depression, and even cancer! And hot foods or beverages may
actually cause the styrene to leach out of the foam container and get into our bodies!
Honey, where’s my tumbler?
#5: Flame-grilled Flavoring
Burger fans, I hate to break it to you. While some fast-food burgers flaunt their signature
flame-grilled goodness, the meat might not have even touched an open fire in the first place!
First off, those sear marks on meat cutlets are usually made by using
something called rotary brander, a machine that brands meat with
high heat grill marks before they are frozen and shipped off to restaurants.
But you might be wondering, if the sear marks are fake,
then how are they able to achieve that distinct smokey flavor?
Well, they have companies like Red Arrow to thank for that.
They produce condensed smoke or liquid smoke through a process that uses heat,
sawdust and water. The condensed smoke simulates the savory flavor of natural
juices dripping down hot coal, but minus all the cost and hassle of actual grilling.
I wonder if it works for rat burgers too.
Man: Rat? Man: This is rat burger?
#4: McDonald’s Fries
Have you ever wondered why Mickey D’s famous fries look too perfect? And by that,
I mean no dark spots like we usually see in raw potatoes,
and they’re unusually long that makes them bloom out of the box like a perfect fry bouquet.
Well, according to renowned activist and author Michael Pollan, McDonalds favors a certain variety
of potato called Russet Burbank that’s typically elongated in shape. However, to keep those tubers
blemish-free, farmers use a dangerous pesticide called Monitor, which, as Pollan describes,
is so toxic that farmers stay away from the potato fields for 5 days after spraying!
Pollan: And then when they harvest their potatoes, they have to put
them in these atmosphere-controlled sheds the size of a football stadium
because they’re not edible for 6 weeks. They have to off-gas all the chemicals.
However, the McGill University in Canada refuted Pollan’s alarmist claims,
saying that the Monitor pesticide has not been used since 2009, and that it’s normal to place
potatoes in atmosphere controlled sheds to keep them all year round.
#3: American Cheese
Melty cheese in a burger is like the cherry on top of the proverbial cake. It just makes the
burger that much more appetizing! But while most of us know that fast-food chains use processed
cheese a.k.a. American cheese, do you actually know what’s inside them?
Well, for starters, it’s just made of 50%
cheese! The rest? An interesting cocktail of preservatives, emulsifiers,
food dyes and artificial ingredients that most of us can’t even pronounce!
Looking at this clip from How Stuff Works, it looks like there’s a lot of phosphates in there,
some citrates, acids, a bit of propionates, ugh I give up, man!
All you have to know is that most of them are to ensure a longer shelf life,
make it cheaper and more consistent, and so that the cheese doesn’t separate when it melts.
But is the term “processed” such a dirty word? Well, just like with everything else,
it’s better to consume this Franken-dairy product in moderation.
#2: Milkshakes
Making a strawberry milkshake at home is pretty easy. All you need are 4 basic ingredients;
ice cream, sugar, vanilla, and some fresh strawberries. But did you know
that fast-food milkshakes have more than 59 ingredients? Well,
they mostly come from the chemicals used to create the artificial strawberry flavoring!
There’s amyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, methyl anthranilate, the list goes on and on.
Flavor chemists like Michelle Hagen are responsible in mimicking various flavors
using different combinations of chemicals. And the formulas they create are patented.
Michelle: Raspberries are one of my favorite. I can’t even fit all my raspberries in here.
Man: How different can raspberries be? Michelle: Oh very different.
You can make them jammy, you can make them sweet, you can make them floral.
But while there’s a lot of aversion towards artificial flavoring compared to quote-unquote
“natural” flavoring--mostly because the latter comes from plant and animals and
the former does not--ultimately, the molecules in both natural and
artificial flavorings are exactly the same! And most people can’t really tell the difference.
No wonder those fast-food milkshakes bring all the boys to the yard!
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#1: Dirty Soda
Did you ever wonder why fast-food soda tastes differently from those
we buy from the supermarket? Well, for one, you’re not just hallucinating. And that’s
because soda in fountain machines are created right then and there!
Contrary to what most of us believe that softdrinks are just decanted into these machines,
fountain drinks mix flavored syrup and carbonated water right inside the machine.
And some restaurants put more syrup than others, hence the differences in flavor.
But that’s nowhere near the worst problem about soda dispensers.
In a 2018 report by Fox 4, they swabbed several soda fountains from movie theaters,
gas stations and dining locations and had them tested for bacteria. And let’s
just say the results are a bit hard to swallow. The fast casual restaurants had signs of E.Coli,
and the highest count in our test of Coliform bacteria.
FYI, E.Coli and Coliform are bacteria commonly found in fecal matter. Sounds crappy, I know.
So, which among these did you find the most disgusting?
Let us know in the comments section below!
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Craving for more culinary trivia? Then don’t miss our ranking of the
8 Foods That Were Invented for Another Purpose!
‘Til then, stay safe and chill, fact-natics! See you in our next awesome video!