Did the quality really go down? I don’t go to McDonald’s very often but I think the quality has improved a lot from what I remember it being in the 2000s/2010s. It’s still mostly unhealthy slop, but sometimes that’s exactly what you need.
Granted, I’m in Germany; I can’t speak for any other country’s locations
Germany has regulations for food that are much more demanding than those of the US, so there isn’t much that fast food restaurants can do to cut costs in Germany aside from the order touchscreens and such.
Believe it or not, big name food brands often adjust their ingredients in European countries compared to their products released in the United States. Certain ingredients that are illegal in Europe are still allowed, and commonly used, in the United States. The following eight common ingredients are approved in the U.S. but banned by the European Union or select European states.
rBGH (rBST)
Common foods: Milk and yogurt
Purpose: Injected into cows to boost milk production
Ractopamine
Common foods: Pork, beef, and turkey
Purpose: Increases lean muscle near the end of an animal’s life
Potassium bromate (bromated flour)
Common foods: Hamburger and hot dog buns, and packaged baked goods
Purpose: Makes bread fluffier and whiter
Brominated vegetable oil (BVO)
Common beverages: Sports drinks and sodas
Purpose: Keeps flavor from floating to the surface
Olestra
Common foods: Fat-free chips
Purpose: Substitutes fat
Azodicarbonamide
Common foods: Frozen dinners, pasta mix, and packaged baked goods
Purpose: Bleaches flour rapidly
Coloring agents (Red #40, Yellow #6, Yellow #5, and Blue #1)
Common foods/beverages: Cake mix, candy, soda, and sports beverages
Purpose: Changes food color
BHA and BHT
Common foods/beverages: Gum, cereal, vegetable oil, butter, and beer
Purpose: Makes food last longer
And these additive ingredients expand past the EU into the United Kingdom. For example, the American version of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is entirely different from Kraft’s “Cheesey Pasta” sold in Great Britain. Take a look at the differences below.
Maybe it’s location based, but I had a mcflurry about a year ago and was given a pathetically small amount of the topping poorly mixed in a terrible filler ice cream. Perhaps the ice cream in the mcflurry was always terrible, but I hadn’t noticed it before when I would get a lot more of the topping. Also, their coffee was better for a time but it has reverted to burnt mud.
Did the quality really go down? I don’t go to McDonald’s very often but I think the quality has improved a lot from what I remember it being in the 2000s/2010s. It’s still mostly unhealthy slop, but sometimes that’s exactly what you need.
Granted, I’m in Germany; I can’t speak for any other country’s locations
Majority of McDonalds locations are franchised so quality varies widely.
Quality of food is determined by McDonald’s as they control the supply chain. Quality of prep vary by location
Somehow I don’t think you’re getting a McAloo Tikki Burger, or a Spicy Paneer Wrap outside of India McDonald’s.
Their menu definitely changes depending on the country.
Germany has regulations for food that are much more demanding than those of the US, so there isn’t much that fast food restaurants can do to cut costs in Germany aside from the order touchscreens and such.
Here’s an example.
Excerpt about additives:
Believe it or not, big name food brands often adjust their ingredients in European countries compared to their products released in the United States. Certain ingredients that are illegal in Europe are still allowed, and commonly used, in the United States. The following eight common ingredients are approved in the U.S. but banned by the European Union or select European states.
rBGH (rBST)
Ractopamine
Potassium bromate (bromated flour)
Brominated vegetable oil (BVO)
Olestra
Azodicarbonamide
Coloring agents (Red #40, Yellow #6, Yellow #5, and Blue #1)
BHA and BHT
And these additive ingredients expand past the EU into the United Kingdom. For example, the American version of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is entirely different from Kraft’s “Cheesey Pasta” sold in Great Britain. Take a look at the differences below.
Maybe it’s location based, but I had a mcflurry about a year ago and was given a pathetically small amount of the topping poorly mixed in a terrible filler ice cream. Perhaps the ice cream in the mcflurry was always terrible, but I hadn’t noticed it before when I would get a lot more of the topping. Also, their coffee was better for a time but it has reverted to burnt mud.