Everything you want to knowABOUT OUR FOOD

What goes into our food? Quality ingredients, responsibly sourced. So whether it's 100% chicken breast meat or whole cuts of British and Irish beef, you know it's been selected with you in mind.

Let's talk quality

It’s only ever whole cuts of British and Irish beef that make our 100% beef burgers

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Our chicken? 100% breast meat only

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With 52% reduced salt*, we're always improving our Happy Meal®

*Based on Chicken McNuggets®, Fries and a Fruit Shoot now and in 2003. Find out how >

And that's not all

Delicious, roasted Arabica coffee beans

We know how important your morning cup of coffee is. That's why we make sure that all our freshly ground McCafé® coffee is made with beans that have been grown on Rainforest Alliance-certified farms™ that promote environmental, social and economic responsibility. That'll put a spring in your step.​

 

All of our pork is British and from RSPCA assured farms

Whether your bacon's in a burger or your breakfast McMuffin you know that it comes from British farmers who stick to the RSPCA's animal welfare standards. The same goes for the meat in our sausage patties.

 

 

Our free range eggs are round for a reason

Every egg we cook at breakfast is from a UK or Irish RSPCA Assured farm. We gently steam them in a ring, so that they're the perfect shape to fit in our toasted McMuffins. And that's why they're round!

 

Our fries are cut from real potatoes

We've heard all sorts of rumours about our fries, but the reality is very simple. Real, whole, British potatoes, washed, peeled, cut and prepared, before being frozen to send to our restaurants. Once they're fried, we add just a pinch of salt. So you get deliciously crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside fries, every time.

 

We source all our milk from UK dairies

Whether you're topping up your tea and coffee, starting the day on hearty porridge, treating the kids to a Happy Meal®, or tucking into a McFlurry, every drop of milk we use comes from UK farms. That's where it gets its delicious taste.

 

We only use fish from sustainable sources

Marine Stewardship Council-certified sustainable fisheries? Phew, that's a mouthful. What it means is that we’re dedicated to responsibly sourcing from certified sustainable fisheries. Because of this, we use hoki - it's white, tasty and comes from a sustainable source. Perfect.

 

Did you know?

We’re proud of the 17,500 farmers we source from, so we support them with environmental initiatives and chances for young people to get into farming, as well as helping them share their knowledge with other farmers.

Your Top 10 Questions

Got a burning question about our beef? Well you've come to the right place. We've compiled a handy list of the 10 questions we get asked the most.

1.

What's really in a McDonald's burger and how are they made?

We only use whole cuts of 100% beef from the forequarter and flank to make our famous burgers with nothing else added apart from a pinch of salt and pepper after cooking. All of our beef is sourced from over 16,000 British and Irish farmers that must meet the standards set by a nationally recognised farm assurance scheme, such as Red Tractor. Butchers prepare these whole cuts of beef, which are then minced and shaped. Our blend of fresh and frozen mince holds the patties together. We don’t need to add any binders, McDonald’s UK burgers are just 100% beef. In our restaurants we don’t use fat or oil to cook our beef burgers. Hot plates cook the beef patties from both sides at once. We then add a pinch of salt and pepper, dress with your chosen filling and serve.

2.

Are Chicken McNuggets® made with real chicken?

Chicken breast meat is the only meat we use across our entire chicken range, including our McNuggets®. We’re proud of the suppliers we use and we won’t work with anyone who does not adhere to our own high standards of animal welfare, as well as those required by UK and EU legislation.

3.

Are McDonald's fries made with real potatoes? Why are they so long?

British potatoes are the only potatoes we use for our Fries. From the Russet Burbank to the Shepody, these are long potatoes that can be cut to make extra-long Fries. These whole British potatoes are washed, peeled, cut, prepared and frozen. Our restaurant teams cook them in a blend of sunflower and rapeseed oil, adding salt before serving.

4.

Are McDonald's eggs real eggs? Why are they so round?

All of the eggs we cook across our UK breakfast menu are free-range British and Irish eggs that conform to the Lion Quality Code of Practice or equivalent. Compassion in World Farming has awarded us two Good Egg awards. The most recent in 2015 for our commitment to only using free-range eggs, including ingredients. The answer to why our eggs are so round is simple. We steam our eggs gently in a ring, which gives them their distinctive round shape. The cooking process is quick and easy. Once cooked, they then fit perfectly into our toasted McMuffin buns.

5.

Where does the pork in McDonald's McMuffins come from?

All of the pork on our menu is sourced from British, RSPCA Assured scheme farms. In 2013, McDonald’s became the first high street restaurant chain to switch to 100% RSPCA Assured pork across our entire UK menu. This means that pigs have been kept to strict RSPCA welfare standards at every stage of their lives. The farmers who supply our menu have to provide bedding in barns and make sure their pigs have plenty of space to move around. It doesn't matter what you choose. All of the pork sausage patties and bacon we serve comes from British, RSPCA Assured scheme farms.

6.

Is McDonald's milk organic?

We only use organic, semi-skimmed milk for our teas, coffees, Happy Meal® milk bottles and porridge.

7.

Is there milk in McDonald's milkshakes?

We only use whole milk from UK dairies to make our popular milkshakes. We add individual syrups to flavour our milkshakes, whether that’s for strawberry, chocolate, banana or vanilla milkshakes.

8.

Is McDonald's food suitable for vegetarians?

We may be famous for burgers but we offer a number of tasty options for vegetarians too. Our French Fries, the Vegetable Patty used in our Spicy Vegetable Deluxe and Vegetable Deluxe have all been approved by the Vegetarian Society and are suitable for vegetarians. All of our fried products from our fries to our vegetable patties are cooked in a blend of sunflower and rapeseed oil, and in separate vats from our chicken, beef and fish products. You can find the full list of products that have been approved by the Vegetarian Society as suitable for vegetarians here.

9.

Where does McDonald's source its coffee?

Every single coffee bean we use in our McCafé® range comes from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms. The Rainforest Alliance works with coffee farmers to improve their livelihoods and the well-being of their local communities. As well as being good for farmers, our coffee also tastes great too. Every cup of coffee we serve – and we serve around 375,000 cups of coffee a day in the UK – uses only 100% freshly ground Arabica coffee beans.

10.

How many calories are in McDonald's food?

We want to make sure you have everything you need to make an informed choice about what to eat and drink when you visit our restaurants. That’s why you can find all of our calorie information for our food and drink on the menu boards in our restaurants, on our website and via our mobile phone app. You can also find nutrition and allergen information for all our standard products on the reverse of our trayliners, and a summary of the nutrition information on some of our packaging. An allergen booklet is also available in every McDonald’s restaurant.