What's in your McDonald's French Fries? [UK vs US]

http://www.trueactivist.com/mcdonalds-transparency-campaign-revealed-17-ingredients-in-their-french-fries/

I received the above link via facebook this morning and decided to double check the information read rather than accepting by default what was read.  Which is easy to do especially when it comes to McDonald's.

This web article discusses McDonald's French fries and the 17 ingredients they contain (some of which are toxic)! 

image source: trueactivist.com

Interesting as well as most items on the list, salt is now silicoaluminate, dextrose and potassium iodide? What happened to old-fashioned sodium chloride?

On checking locally, the stricter food regulations here in the UK mean the ingredient list is vastly reduced. Here in the UK McDonald's uses 3-4 ingredients (dextrose optionally added depending on the time of year).  The list also does not comprise difficult-to-pronounce additives such as dimethylpolysiloxane which according to McDonald's "is added to the vegetable oil to prevent the oil from foaming and boiling over during cooking, which would be a serious safety risk to our crew." Although McDonald's do fail to mention the potential risks to consumers of a silicone based agent used for cosmetics, shampoos and heat-resistant tiles - being used as a food additive. [Please note the improved UK ingredient list does not mean I advocate McDonald's French fries as a sensible food choice!]

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Here are the ingredient lists by country for French fries.

UK: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Sunflower, Rapeseed), Dextrose (only added at beginning of the season). [The restaurants use non-hydrogenated vegetable oil].

Nutrition source:  http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/product_nutrition.sides.44.french-fries-medium.html

US: Ingredients: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Natural Beef Flavor [Wheat and Milk Derivatives]*, Citric Acid [Preservative]), Dextrose, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (Maintain Color), Salt. Prepared in Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil with TBHQ and Citric Acid added to preserve freshness), Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent. CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK.  *Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients. 

Nutrition source: http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/product_nutrition.snackssides.120.small-french-fries.html, accessed Feb 25 2014

Canada: (listed on image graphic above)

Nutrition source: http://www1.mcdonalds.ca/NutritionCalculator/IngredientFactsEN.pdf, accessed Feb 25 2014

It just goes to show that even for an international corporation such as McDonald's that the same menu item can vary vastly per region in terms of nutritional content - so always check locally and verify information, regardless of the source.  It's also one of the reasons I appreciate some of the UK/EU legislation when it comes to our food options in this country - which in the main are far healthier than other parts of the world where regulation is lax.