McDonald’s has a long history of different controversies. People in the past have made various claims regarding the quality of food served by this fast-food giant. In this article, I am going to talk about a similar controversial statement made by the popular chef Jamie Oliver.

Many misleading viral posts on social media explained Jamie Oliver made claims about McDonald’s burgers being unfit for human consumption and also filed a case against the company. But this whole controversy was fake. 

The post claimed that Oliver pointed out that McDonald’s used to sell highly toxic meat washed with ammonia hydroxide that was not good for human consumption. It also stated that he filed and eventually won a lawsuit against McDonald’s.

These viral posts created a lot of buzz among the people and somewhat damaged McDonald’s reputation. But the truth is far from this, and Oliver never made such remarks.

But as they say, there is no smoke without fire. Let’s unleash the whole controversy about Jamie Oliver Vs. McDonald’s.

What Did Jamie Oliver Say About McDonald’s? 

The truth of the matter is that in April 2011, Jamie Oliver showed his disagreement in a campaign against ammonia-processed meat in the second season of his popular show, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. 

Jamie Oliver visited a school for one of his episodes. There, he demonstrated the whole procedure of washing meat with the ammonia solution. 

He stated the fatty parts of the beef are washed in a machine with the presence of an ammonia solution. 

This meat is thus further used in burgers. He claimed that ammonia deteriorated the quality of meat, making it unfit for human consumption, and he called it pink slime. 

He stated, “Basically, we’re taking a product that would be sold in the cheapest way for dogs, and after this process, is being given to human beings.”

It is quite visible that he made a general statement about the effect of washing meat with ammonia and did not point it out at McDonald’s. 

But he did not file any case against McDonald’s. Oliver didn’t even file a lawsuit against processed meat or render it unfit for human ingestion. All these statements are the results of internet gossip and are fake. 

As we all know, the internet loves drama. People made a controversy out of this statement of Oliver and redirected it toward McDonald’s. The internet just roped in the burger giant and made a whole controversy over it. 

However, Oliver never named McDonald’s but generally mentioned the toxicity of ammonia. Over several years, Oliver explained the toxicity of ammonia regularly.

Is Jamie Oliver Right? What Proof Does He Have Against McDonald’s?

Jamie Oliver was right, but partially. He was accurate that the excessive use of ammonia is not fit for the human body and thus unfit for human consumption. 

However, the experts disagreed with the statement passed by Jamie Oliver on his show. They believed that he exaggeratedly explained the usage of ammonia.  

From the expert’s end, Dr. Joe Schwarcz, Director of McGill University’s Office for science and society, believes that Oliver had overstated the disadvantages of using ammonia for cleaning beef. 

He stated, “Ammonia is a product of protein metabolism and therefore routinely forms in the human body. It ends up being converted into urea which is then excreted in the urine.”

To clear all the rumors and allegations, McDonald’s stated in an official statement that it had stopped using ammonia for the washing purposes of lean beef trimmings in 2013. Further, this fast food giant said that “the decision was not related to any particular event.”

This statement clears all the uncertainties among people regarding unhealthy meat. McDonald’s lovers can munch on their favorite burger without hesitation. 

Final Verdict

All these claims were made in 2012 and were the results of the drama created by the internet. 

For now, this fast food chain has evolved a lot. McDonald’s has improved a lot of things in their health segment, and the brand has now introduced many other healthy options too. 

If you are looking for healthy options, McDonald’s also offers low-calorie meals for its customers. I hope you get the whole idea about this topic. Thanks for reading, and take care!