McDonald's is answering the tough questions and they're not going to stop until the world stops believing they they don't use real meat in their beef patties and chicken nuggets. In a transparency campaign that launched on Oct. 13 called, "Our food. Your questions," McDonald's is taking to social media to directly respond to questions concerning the health and safety of their food content and preparations.
On Twitter and Facebook, McDonald's has been answering the toughest questions like the issue of using hormone-treated cattle or GMO fed-livestock in their beef, or an ingredient used to make yoga mats.... to the more persistent vomit-inducing rumors like using worms as meat extenders. Yuck!
Similar transparency campaigns were launched in Canada and Australia, this latest step is an effort by the company to boost it's image on home shores.
Here are some of the questions posted on Twitter which the company has addressed:
@mwitt2113 Actually, it can. Food needs moisture in the air for mold to form. Without it, food will simply dry out. https://t.co/zUHvzBIYtV
— McDonald's (@McDonalds) October 13, 2014
@CreepyMcSteezer No yoga mats in our buns. Many ingredients have multiple uses, sometimes outside of food. https://t.co/9m9kIqzMhl — McDonald's (@McDonalds) October 14, 2014
@MiyahKanelle Miyah, any food that contains oil could ignite under high temps. Though we suggest eating our fries vs lighting them on fire.
— McDonald's (@McDonalds) October 14, 2014
@jakewhiston9 Hey Jake! That's gross and totally false! We do not use worm meat fillers. — McDonald's (@McDonalds) October 14, 2014
@oreosariana What is fake meat? We only use real chicken & 100% USDA-inspected beef! Check it out here: https://t.co/3LCWIR5jsg
— McDonald's (@McDonalds) October 14, 2014
They even got the former host of Discory Channel's MythBusters to star is a series of ads and webisodes to address some of the biggest issues the company has faced.
In the first episode, Imahara is filmed visiting Cargill in Fresno, California where McDonald's beef patties are produced.
"Are there lips and eyeballs in there?" Imahara asks Jimmy, the plant supervisor.
One by one Imahara will ask the most enduring rumors like if McDonald's still uses "pink slime" in their patties. Jimmy assures him that only beef trimmings are used to make the patties and not the finely textured lean beef that is being referred to. In fact, McDonald's stopped using it in their ingredients three years ago.
Kevin Newell, McDonald's VP-chief brand and strategy officer said the the nutritional information of the food they serve has actually been publicly available for years, but customers had to do a bit of digging to find it. The new campaign is meant to ensure the public that they are not keeping any deep, dark, dirty secrets, and they are making it easy for all their customers to find the information they want whenever they want.
"Now we're inviting consumers to go on a journey with us to get those questions answered," he said in an interview.
The fast food franchise has been struggling in recent years as consumers are trending towards food that is not only fast and convenient, but also healthy. The image of the company has been suffering in recent years due to criticism of bad business practices with their employees, marketing junk food towards children, and food safety issues in China.