It can look the same and taste much the same.
But a Big Mac meal from McDonald’s is very different in America than in Britain – at least when it comes to calories and their ingredient lists.
Not only do some products in the US contain up to three times as many additives, many have been linked to major health problems such as cancer and heart disease.
And despite a rise in awareness about the dangers of ultra-processed foods in recent years, US McDonald’s orders have remained just as unhealthy since 2020, while Britain has removed dangerous ingredients and worked to reduce calorie content.
The nutrient content of meals from the US and UK are drastically different and have been linked to major health problems
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 number of calories in an American Big Mac meal was 1,120, compared to 1,000 in Britain, a difference of 12 percent.
Broken down, a Big Mac in the US contains 590 calories, almost 100 more than those sold in Britain (493 calories).
The American version also contains about 10 grams more fat and 170 milligrams more sodium.
A medium-sized Coke in the US is 55 percent larger than that in Britain: 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 compared to the CDC’s recommended guidelines of limiting your intake to 50 grams of sugar per day.
Meanwhile, McDonald’s fries in Britain 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 has been added to prevent the fries from discolouring and to give them a firmer appearance, unlike the British version which becomes soft and limp.
The franchise replaced frying its fries in beef fat in 1990 with a range of vegetable oils, including canola, corn, soy and hydrogenated soy oil.
McDonald’s compromised by replacing the beef fat with a blend of four vegetable oils: canola, corn, soy and hydrogenated soy oil.
“Not only did this cause them to lose that smooth, meaty taste they had, but ironically it may have also made them less healthy,” Food Wars co-host Harry Hersh said in a video showcasing McDonald’s in Great Britain -Britain and the US were compared. .
This is because the vegetable oil cocktail contains more trans fats than the beef tallow it replaced more than thirty years ago.
Beef tallow contains a high amount of saturated fats which have been linked to heart health problems that can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Equally worrying is the Big Mac’s ingredient list, which contains 68 ingredients, a 21 percent increase on the 56 ingredients in the UK version.
Most surprisingly, the biggest difference is in the bun containing 31 of the 68 ingredients in the US, while the UK version only has 19.
Notable differences include malted barley flour, which gives it a darker golden color and increases the fluffiness of the bun.
Soybean oil, a common cooking oil in the US and a known preservative, and folic acid most commonly used as a pregnancy supplement, were also found in the buns.
Joe Avella (pictured) revealed that the American Big Mac is much worse for consumers
McDonald’s in the US has been found to be significantly worse for consumers than the UK version. The food is higher in calories and contains ingredients linked to tumor growth and other health problems
“McDonald’s has also changed the way it prepares its burgers, adding eleven new ingredients to its buns since 2020, which “McDonald’s describes as a “buttery brioche-like recipe for a soft and pillowy bun,” according to Food Wars. host Joe Avella said.
Yet McDonald’s in Britain has removed three ingredients from its buns, including deactivated yeast, calcium propionate and monocalcium phosphate, and instead added dextrose, corn starch and other natural flavors.
One person in the comments section wondered, “Why does the US hate its citizens?” while another replied: ‘Less regulation, lots more chemicals and preservatives to make things cheaper.’
The ingredients contain deadly additives that are raising concerns, including the Big Mac pickles containing polysorbate 80 in the US.
This is a chemical additive commonly found in American foods that extends shelf life and promotes tumor growth in laboratory mice.
Additionally, SAPP, which was added to the fries, is generally considered safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It has been linked to a number of potential health problems, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and coronary artery disease.
It has also been shown to harm the immune system if consumed in large amounts over an extended period of time, according to a 2018 study. study by the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology in Egypt.
Food Wars compared the calorie, fat and sugar content in Big Macs from the US to the UK
McDonald’s changed the ingredients in a Big Mac burger to make the bun appear firmer, fluffier and have a more golden color. Pictured: Big Mac in 2020 (left) versus a Big Mac burger in 2024 (right)
Avella and co-host Harry Kersh compared today’s meals to the same meal from four years ago, and their findings sparked outrage among Americans who didn’t understand why the fast-food chain would cut calories and ingredients in Britain but cut them in the U.S. would increase. US.
At the time, the British Big Mac meal with a chocolate shake was 1,440 calories, the same meal today is 1,405 calories, “which means McDonald’s in Britain has found a way to cut 35 calories from the meal,” Hersh said.
That same meal in the US had 1,870 calories in 2020, which is 93.5 percent of your recommended daily intake, and in 2024 the calorie count of that meal has not changed.
“Say what you want about McDonald’s, they’re consistent,” Avella noted.