What Is Really in Fast Food Fries?

I think the end of my hopes and dreams are in there somewhere. Thts how i feel if i eat them anyway.

I dont eat fast food at all, but my husband does use used cooking oil (not for food use,he uses it with machinery) and knows that food places get rid of any oil daily. There are always people to take or even pay for the used cooking oil.

Um...I don't know if this matters to you or not...I used to work at Wendy's. When you say repeated uses, do you mean throughout the day or for multiple days? Because I used to clean those damn things out EVERY NIGHT and the oil was always tossed (a company comes and picks it up). And, at least once a day it was run through a cleaner to get all the gunk out so the fries didn't taste burned.
But, onto your question! Fast food in general is not healthy for you. I guess that if you eat it every once in a while you are not going to have any issues. I am willing to bet that almost all fast food places do fun things that you would probably rather not know about. lol
L.

Short of going to a Mom and pop place that cut their own fries immediately before frying, all fast food fries are covered with chemicals to prevent browning and enchance browning to please your eye and enhance your mouth feel when you bite into it. The other foods there all have some sort of not from nature chemical in or on them to either elevate browning, enhance texture, develop flavor....in other words the only way to know how a veggie, tuber, legume, fruit or piece of meat was prepared and if it has chemical in it is to prepare it yourself from a form closest to how it came from the earth. It really doesn't take long to make fries and a burger or chicken nuggets that both taste better and are all around healthier for both you and the environment. I don't think it should take an act of congress( and they have too many people in their pockets anyway to change the laws) to change companies putting in dyes, preservatives, flavor enhances, frying enhancers, food texturizers. Cook at home, if you don't have time during the week figure out how to cook ahead one day and reheat and sit around a table and eat and get to know your family again. Also it will save you time from cleaning all the food crumbs out of your car.

Yep, but all fast food is on my "gross" list anyway. Restaurants that are slower and prepare food to order are less likely to have junk on their food, but if the fries are frozen, then likely, there's some preservative on them.

By the way, addressing Cheryl's comment: you can be a smart consumer and look for organic 'verification', which is usually a third-party certification. Here in Oregon, the gold-standard for organic is Oregon Tilth, which certifies beyond the state. Many of our stores are good at labeling produce "conventional" "organic" or "transitional" (which means they are in process of becomine certified organic.) It's good not to throw the baby out with the bathwater-- our organic farmers need our support, and I can tell-- the food often just tastes better, with a fuller flavor and so delicious.

We don't eat fast food at all. They synthetic chemicals in everything (even MSG at Chick-fil-a who has a good business model) is too much for any body to handle. No wonder we have a childhood obesity epidemic. Synthetic chemicals get our body out of kilter so it has no clue what to do and diseases develop. Detox is the only way out....

M.

PS I DO know McDonald's uses sugar on their fries to make them addictive....

All I can add is gross. I try to steer clear of fast food myself. The grandmas on the other hand refuse to listen to me on whether or not my kids can have any of it. I guess they figure I turned out ok. I dont have any extra body parts. It is still gross though. apple slices thank god you made your come back in the fast food market!!

It's called PRESERVATIVES....ANY PROCESSED food is sprayed with it.

Many fast food restaurants, if not all, spray preservatives on their foods so that they last longer and don't have as much waste.

This is what we get for the "Want it NOW" society we have created. Need it FAST. Need it NOW.

Burgers are laced with soy products so companies don't have to spend as much on beef.

Breads - burger and hot dogs are made with preservatives so that they won't mold as fast. This is one reason why Subway is doing so well - their products (breads) are made fresh every day. PERIOD. However, their veggies have most likely been sprayed to keep them fresher longer as well.

And those that say "organic" not always so!!! Yeppers folks!!! You are spending more money on something to be "organic" and there are no controls or regulations in place in order for growers to call their produce "organic". EDIT: Please note, i don't want Congress or the Govt in my business any more than they already are - however, too many companies take advantage of the consumer and label things "organic" even when they are not.....

Hope this helps!

I don't know, but reading all these responses about fries has me thinking about them... And how good they taste.

Now I have a strong urge to pack up my son and the girl I nanny, and drive over to McDonald's. Lol

I also wonder how frequently the fryer oils are changed . . . ugh.

You might want to google potatoes (frying) and acrylamide.

We mostly eat french fries from home but even there I've cut down on them (at least deep frying them anyway).

Yes, it is true. Wendy's does it and McDonalds that I know so far. Yes, sad. My kids will not be eating them anymore. Either homemade or a restaurant that serves homemade fries or potato wedges.

oh no!! I love thier new fries. So sad. :(

Here's a video of an experiment that might make everyone think twice about all fast food!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htnvzLU1I1o

I have heard that margarine also uses plastic (probably silicone), as well. The other day, I purchased 3 loaves of garlic bread at Costco and placed one in the oven. The smoked like you wouldn't believe and it smelled like the plastic from the bread bag was in there too. I opened the oven assuming they were burning and they weren't even browned yet.

Ew, I read that too. The thing that grossed me out the most was that most fast food places use a silicone based chemical in their frying oil to stabilize it. How creepy. However it will help me to pass up fast food in the future!

From what I understand (from the article), anyplace that uses canola oil does this but if they fry in peanut oil they do not. They mentioned 5 Guys uses peanut oil.

Whatever is in there, it tastes yummy! Once in a while, I have fries, and I enjoy them. Wendy's and Culver's have my favorite fast food fries.

The rest of the time, I eat all different kinds of food. It works for me.

Actually, here is the ingrediant list:
Medium Fries
Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (contains one or more of the following oils: canola, soybean, cottonseed, sunflower, corn), Dextrose, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (to maintain natural color). Cooked in Vegetable Oil (soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural flavor [vegetable], citric acid [preservative], dimethylpolysiloxane [anti-foaming agent]). Cooked in the same oil as menu items that contain Wheat, Egg, Milk, and Fish (where available). Seasoned with Sea Salt.