Americans stunned by McDonald's ingredients in US vs UK

The might look the same and, to a large extent, taste the same.

But a Big Mac meal from McDonald's is vastly different is America compared to the UK - at least when it comes to calories and their ingredient lists.

Not only do some items have up to three times more additives in the US, many have been linked to major health issues like cancer and heart disease.

And, despite a rise in awareness about the dangers of ultra-processed food in recent years, Americans' McDonald's orders have remained equally unhealthy since 2020, while the UK has removed dangerous ingredients and worked to shave down the calorie content.

Despite the Big Mac burger and medium fries being the same size in the US and UK, the ingredients, calories and fat content are quite different. 

The total calorie count of a US Big Mac meal was 1,120 compared to 1,000 in the UK, a 12 percent difference.

Read More

Revolting moment McDonald's customer finds MAGGOTS crawling inside her Big Mac burger

Broken down, a Big Mac in the US has 590 calories, nearly 100 more than those sold in the UK (493 calories).

The US version also has roughly 10 grams more fat and 170 milligrams more sodium.

A medium Coke in the US is 55 percent larger than that in the UK - 21 fluid ounces compared to just 13.5 fluid ounces.

That amounts to 56 grams of sugar in the US and 43 grams respectively - this is in comparison to the CDC's recommended guidelines of limiting your intake to 50 grams of sugar per day.

Meanwhile, McDonald's French fries in the UK contain just three ingredients: potatoes, oil and salt, but the US version contains six ingredients including natural beef flavor, dextrose and sodium acid pyrophosphate (SAPP). 

SAPP was added to prevent the fries from discoloring and give them a firmer appearance, unlike the UK version which becomes soft and floppy. 

The franchise replaced deep-frying the fries in beef tallow with an array of vegetable oils in 1990, including canola, corn, soy and hydrogenated soybean oil.

McDonald's compromised by replacing the beef tallow with a mixture of four vegetable oils: canola, corn, soy and hydrogenated soybean oil.

'Not only did this cause them to lose that gentle beefy flavor that they had, but ironically, it might have made them less healthy,' Harry Hersh, a co-host on Food Wars said in a video comparing McDonald's in the UK and US.

This is because the vegetable oil cocktail contains more trans fats than the beef tallow it had replaced over three decades ago.

Beef tallow has a high amount of saturated fats that have been linked to heart health problems that can increase the risk of heart and blood vessel disease.

Just as concerning is the Big Mac's ingredient list which has 68 ingredients, a 21 percent increase to the 56 ingredients found in the UK version.

Most surprisingly, the main difference is in the bun which contains 31 of the 68 ingredients in the US, while the UK version has just 19.

Notable differences include malted barley flour which gives it a more darkened golden color and increases the bun's fluffiness.

Soybean oil, which is a common cooking oil in the US and a known preservative and folic acid which is most commonly used as a pregnancy supplement were also found in the buns.

'McDonald's has also changed the way it cooks its burgers, and since 2020 has added 11 new ingredients to its buns, which 'McDonald's describes as having a 'buttery brioche-style recipe for a soft and pillowy textured bun,' Food Wars co-host Joe Avella said.

Yet, in the UK, McDonald's has actually removed three ingredients from its buns including deactivated yeast, calcium propionate and monocalcium phosphate, instead adding dextrose, maize starch and other natural flavorings.

One person in the comments section questioned, 'Why does the U.S. hate it’s citizens?' while another responded saying: 'Less regulation, far more chemicals and preservatives to make things cheaper.'

The ingredients contain deadly additives that are raising concern including the Big Mac's pickles which contain polysorbate 80 in the US.

This is a chemical additive commonly found in US foods that improves the shelf life and has been found to promote tumor growth in lab mice. 

Additionally, SAPP, which was added to the fries is generally considered safe by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it has been linked to some potential health concerns including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and coronary artery disease.

It has also been shown to harm the immune system if its consumed in large amounts over an extended period of time, according to a 2018 study by the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology in Egypt.

Avella and co-host Harry Kersh compared the meals today to the same meal four years ago, and their findings sparked outrage among Americans who didn't understand why the fast food chain would reduce the calories and ingredients in the UK but increase them in the US.

At the time, the UK Big Mac meal with a chocolate shake came to 1,440 calories, the same meal today is 1,405 calories, 'meaning that McDonald's in the UK has found a way to shave 35 calories off the meal,' Hersh said.

That same meal in the US was 1,870 calories in 2020, amounting to 93.5 percent of your recommended daily intake and in 2024, that meal's calorie count has not changed.

'Say what you want about McDonald's, they are consistent,' Avella commented.