72 Interesting Facts about McDonald's Food

By Karin Lehnardt, Senior Writer

Published August 19, 2016Updated September 19, 2024

In the United States alone, people eat over 1 billion pounds of beef at McDonald’s in a year, which is 5½ million head of cattle._[13]
McDonald’s is the nation’s largest purchaser of beef, pork, and potatoes. It is the second largest purchaser of chicken._[20]

Since 1948, McDonald’s has sold over 4 trillion fries

McDonald’s serves about 9 million pounds of fries globally—per day._[18]
McDonald’s Corporation is the largest owner of retail property in the world. The company earns most of its profits not from selling food, but by collecting rent._[20]
The smallest McDonald’s restaurant is not for humans. Called McHive, this tiny McDonald's is a functional beehive for thousands of bees._[7]
The largest McDonald’s restaurant is over 19,000 square feet and is located in Orlando, Florida._[21]
There are about 35,429 McDonald’s worldwide._[25]
McDonald’s (and other fast food restaurants’) chicken is composed primarily of fat, with some blood vessels and nerves present._[20]
McDonald’s calls people who eat a lot of their food “heavy users.”_[20]

A McDonald's strawberry shake contains zero strawberries

A McDonald’s strawberry milkshake contains about 50 chemicals that are used to imitate the flavor of strawberries._[11]
Willard Scott was the first Ronald McDonald. He was fired for being too fat._[20]
Only seven items on the McDonald’s menu contain no sugar._[20]
The McCafe fruit smoothie has more sugar per serving than a Coke._[20]
McDonald’s buys over 240 million pounds of fresh apples a year, more than any other food-service operation. Their sliced apples don't turn brown because they are covered in NatureSeal, a coating that keeps them looking fresh for up to three weeks._[2]
The original McDonald’s had a hickory pit and served barbecued beef, ham, and pork along with chili, tamales, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches._[22]
More than 80, 000 students from around the globe have graduated with “Bachelor of Hamburgerology” degrees from McDonald’s “Hamburger University.”_[8]
The most southerly McDonald’s franchise is in Invercargill, New Zealand._[8]
New Zealand is also home to the world’s most easterly McDonald’s restaurant in the city of Gisborne. The most westerly restaurant is in Western Samoa, as they are the closest to either side of the International Date Line._[8]
McDonald’s largest market outside the U.S is Japan, with over 3,000 restaurants._[8]

With dressing and croutons, the salad has 425 calories and 21.4g of fat, compared with the 253 calories and 7.7g of fat in the standard burger

McDonald’s Caesar salad is more fattening than its hamburger._[4]
In Japan, Ronald McDonald is known as “Donald McDonald” to make pronunciation easier for the Japanese._[8]
Every day, McDonald’s feeds over 70 million people. This is more than the entire population of the U.K._[26]
McDonald’s fruit-and-maple oatmeal has as much sugar as a bag of M&Ms._[16]
McDonald’s offered the first nationally available fast food breakfast sandwich when it introduced the Egg McMuffin in 1972. By 1987, a quarter of all breakfasts eaten outside of the home in the U.S. were from McDonald’s._[22]
McDonald’s won’t open a franchise unless it’s economically viable in a territory, which is why the presence of the food giant is sometimes used as an indicator of the country’s financial stability._[8]

It takes over half of a day walking to burn of a McDonald's meal

A person would need to walk for seven hours straight to burn off a super-sized Coke, fries, and Big Mac._[14]
McDonald’s tried to open a restaurant in Bermuda, but the local outcry was so widespread that a law was passed banning all franchised restaurants in the country. According to one resident, “McDonald’s cheapens wherever it goes. It is not Bermudian.”_[19]
Countries that have banned McDonald’s include North Korea, Bolivia, Macedonia, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Iceland, Yemen, Bermuda, Montenegro, and Kazakhstan._[19]
The unhealthiest item on the McDonald’s menu is the “Big Breakfast with Hotcakes and Large Size Biscuit.” It has a whopping 1,150 calories, 60 grams of fat, 20 grams of saturated fat, 17 grams of sugar, 575 milligrams of cholesterol, 116 grams of carbohydrates, and 2,260 grams of sodium._[9]
The wealth gap between McDonald’s CEOs and its workers has doubled over the last 10 years._[20]
While McDonald’s originally used harvested soybeans from endangered parts of the rainforest to feed chickens, it later teamed up with Greenpeace to place a moratorium on trading soybeans that had been harvested from newly deforested areas._[20]
The McRib is a product of “restructured meat product”—or a mixture of tripe, heart, and scalded stomach—which is then mixed with salt and water to extract proteins from the muscle. The proteins bind all the pork trimmings together so that it can be reshaped into a fake slab of ribs._[23]

The McRib contains over 70 ingredients

McDonald’s McDLT had such wide backlash over its Styrofoam packaging that it later pulled the burger. The sandwich came in two Styrofoam containers. One contained the lettuce and tomato, and the other the burger. The aim was to keep the veggies cold and the burger hot._[20]
Of the 196 countries in the world, McDonald’s is in 119 (61%) of them._[19]
There are 179 McDonald restaurants in India—a country where most people do not eat beef or pork._[20]
McDonald’s sells more than 75 hamburgers per second._[15]
McDonald’s Big Mac has 18 separate additives, and the cheeseburger has about 17 separate additives. Additives are present in almost everything on the menu, including the grilled chicken and salads. Researchers have found that children who eat certain additives are more likely to be overactive, impulsive, and unable to concentrate._[11]
One economist estimates that at least 5% of McDonald’s revenue comes from soft drinks. A fast food soda (18 oz.) that sells for $1.99 costs the restaurant about $0.16, a markup of over 1,250%._[5]
The McDonald’s restaurants in India are the only ones in the world where a person cannot buy beef. Instead, all-lamb versions of the Big Mac, called the “Maharaja Mac,” are available._[8]
The Big Mac was introduced in 1968. The calories in a Big Mac depend on the way a specific McDonald’s restaurant adapts it to the regional cuisine. For example, in the United States, the Big Mac has 550 calories. In Australia it has 493 calories. In Japan, it has 557 calories._[22]
McDonald’s opened a Big Mac Museum Restaurant in western Pennsylvania on August 22, 2007, to celebrate the sandwich’s 40th anniversary. The museum houses the world’s largest Big Mac statue, at 14 feet tall and 12 feet wide._[22]
Just as Pavlov could get a dog to salivate anytime it heard a bell, McDonald’s can attract customers by its universal jingle and other consistent experiences, such as the same images, colorful logos, and greetings. Specifically, the combination of yellow and red triggers both friendliness and hunger._[10]
McDonald’s Happy Meals have been served since 1979. In the mid-1970s, a Guatemalan woman name Yolanda Fernández de Cofiño invented the happy meal (which she called the “Menu Ronald”) to make it easier for mothers to feed their children. The concept was later co-opted by Bob Bernstein, CEO of an advertising agency, who ultimately named the small meal the “happy meal” and was given credit for the idea._[22]

The rates of childhood diabetes and obesity have been steadily increasing

Approximately 9 out of 10 American children eat at a McDonald’s restaurant every month._[14]
McDonald’s makes burgers like Ford makes cars: with an assembly line method._[20]
McDonald’s spends more than $1 billion a year on direct media advertising._[20]

A cheeseburger Happy Meal contains 520 calories, 20 grams of total fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, and 50 milligrams of cholesterol

McDonald’s is the largest distribution of toys in the world. Each year, it distributes 1.4 billion toys worldwide, which is more than Hasbro and Mattel._[17]
McDonald’s starts aggressive marketing toward children at a young age to develop trust and reliance. Researchers note that fast food restaurants want children to see them as a “mom and dad or grandma or grandpa.”_[20]
McDonald’s operates more playgrounds than any other private entity in the United States._[20]
Since its founding in 1955, McDonald's has sold over 300 million burgers._[12]
McDonald's sells over 9 million pounds of French Fries every day._[12]
McDonald's buys over 3.4 billion pounds of U.S.-grown potatoes each year, making them a top global pootato purchaser._[12]
Approximately 96% of American school children can identify Ronald McDonald. The only other fictional character that kids recognize more is Santa Claus._[24]
In Thailand, kids have the option of eating a pork burger in their happy meals, which actually has a higher calorie count and higher fat content than beef._[20]
In 2008, an unnamed 14-year-old girl found a piece of metal about an inch long in her McDonald’s hamburger. Health officials later determined that it was part of a veterinary needle or syringe from a packing plant in Ohio, most likely from an animal that was vaccinated before it was slaughtered._[6]
Max Ipinza found chewed gum inside his McDonald’s hamburger in 2007. He was concerned about contracting hepatitis after he bit into the hamburger and tasted something like peppermint._[6]
Since 1948, McDonald’s has sold over 4 trillion fries. If they were placed end to end, they would circle the globe 18,476 times. It would be enough fries to go to the moon and back—306 times—and to Jupiter and back 2 times._[18]

I went into McDonald's yesterday and said, "I'd like some fries." The girl at the counter said, "Would you like some fries with that?"

- Jay Leno

McDonald's has over 40,275 worldwide. Subway has about 36,000 stores worlwide._[26]
In 2009, a 7-year-old girl in Switzerland found a condom in her French fries. Local police tried to determine if the condom posed a health risk. At the time of the story, McDonald’s declined to comment._[6]
Potential concern for genetically modified organisms encouraged McDonald’s to state that it would no longer purchase genetically engineered potatoes in the U.S. In Europe, McDonald’s doesn’t use genetically modified foods due to restrictions imposed by the EU and national laws._[18]

McDonald's centralization of the meat system has increased the risk for a large outbreak of disease

Eric Schlosser argues that, as a result of practices followed at McDonald’s and other fast food chains, meatpacking is the most dangerous job in the U.S. He also argues that the practices of meatpackers facilitated the introduction of deadly pathogens, such as e Coli 0157:H7, into America’s hamburger meat._[20]
McDonald’s employs 1 million workers in the U.S. every year, more than any other American organization, public or private. One in every eight American workers has been employed by McDonald’s._[13]
Famous people who worked at McDonald’s include Sharon Stone, Shania Twain, Jay Leno, Rachel McAdams, and Pink._[13]
McDonald’s company brand value is over US$85 billion. Starbucks is the second ranked fast food outlet, at an estimated brand value of $25 billion. Subway ($21 billion), KFC ($12 billion), Pizza Hut ($8 billion), Chipotle ($7 billion), Tim Hortons ($4 billion), Panera ($2.8 billion), Wendy’s ($2.7 billion), and Burger King ($2.6 billion) round out the top 10._[5]
McDonald’s sells unique menus items in every country. For example: banana pie, chicken porridge, the McLobster roll, and the McRice Burger. In Germany, McDonald’s even sells beer._[8]
A McDonald’s Big Mac has 550 calories. To burn off just the burger itself, without fries or soda, would take a 155-pound woman about an hour of cycling at a moderate pace of about 13 mph. Additionally, a Big Mac has half a person’s daily allowance of saturated fat._[24]
Iowan John Cisna lost 37 pounds after eating three meals a day at McDonald’s for 90 days straight. His typical meal plan included two egg whites delights, a bowl of maple oatmeal, and 1% milk for breakfast; a salad for lunch; and a value meal for dinner. He also increased his exercise. However, nutritionists point out that McDonald’s food is highly processed and that health is more important than weight._[16]

McDonald's uses an "egg blend" that includes glycerin, dimethylpolysiloxane, and calcium silicate

The eggs at McDonald’s are really a mixture that includes eggs and an “egg blend,” which includes a solvent found in soap and shaving cream. It also includes dimethylpolysiloxane, a silicone that can also be found in Silly Putty, and calcium silicate, a sealant used on roofs and concrete._[1]
In 2012, the purveyor of McDonald’s McRib sandwich said it would start requiring its pork suppliers to phase out confining gestation pens that are cruel to sows._[23]
McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets were so popular when introduced in 1979 that demand quickly outstripped chicken supply. To compensate for the chicken shortage, the pork McRib was invented._[23]
Paris is the only place in the world where the McDonald’s arches are white instead of golden._[8]
Four hundred quarter pounders can be made out of one cow._[3]