Chinese Netizen’s McDonald’s Happy Meal Rotting Experiment

From Mop:

Does McDoanld’s rot or not? Photos refute American dietitian’s fallacy

According to reports, American dietitian Brousseau performed an experiment with McDonald’s “Happy Meal”, and discovered that a hamburger and french fries purchased in 2009 were completely unchanged one year later.

However, there were also netizens who pointed out some questionable points. For example, for a hamburger left alone for a year, why was there no dust on the surface of a hamburger (maybe America’s air is that good), that dehydrated bread should become stiff and unable to change shape, that the color of the meat should become darker, that it didn’t look like it was real, etc.

After I saw this news, I deduced two interesting/revealing points.

1. This may be a dishonest competitive trick by competitor.

2. There is safety risks with McDonald’s food.

If a hamburger and french fries that has been left for a year does not rot, then that only demonstrates two points: 1. McDonald’s is truly junk food, and it doesn’t contain any nutrients whatsoever that flies, even microbes are unable to get any nutrients. 2. McDonald’s food have large amounts of preservatives (or stabilizing agents). However neither of the two points above are able to be accepted.

Therefore, I purchased a McDonald’s Happy Meal on April 20th, which included a cheeseburger and french fries (to be used for an experiment), a small Coca-Cola (which I gave to Tai Ming to drink), a toy (that I kept for myself to play with).

The experiment begins: With each photo, time will reveal the truth!

Comparison between a 2009 and 2010 McDonald’s hamburger. [comparing Brousseau’s 2009 experiment versus this netizen’s 2010 experiment]

April 20, 5-12 degress, cloudy/overcast day. Day 1 of the experiment, cheeseburger + french fries. Surface of hamburger still has some moisture, fries stiff. The aroma is not bad.

April 21. 5-12 degrees, light rain. Day 2 of the experiment. Surface of hamburger has dried a bit, but still soft, no change in color yet. Aroma unchanged.

Fries have become soft, beginning to absorb moisture in the air, soaking the bag.

Note: The dorm is ventilated, I discovered an insect today, but the hamburger and french fries did not attract any flies.

April 22. 5-14 degrees, Day 3 of the Experiment, light rain then clear skies. Surface of the cheese is still soft, maybe because of the weather, surface is moist. Still No change whatsoever in color. Aroma has become weaker but still not bad smelling.

After opening, the beef looks very fresh.

The surface of the french fries covered with water droplets. Already soaking the bag.

Have to go away on business during the weekend, so two days without photos, will add them later!

April 23, clear, 10-20 degrees. Day 4 of the experiment, the beef inside the cheeseburger. Captivating. The other images were unfortunately lost while away on business.

April 25, rain, 5-17 degrees. Day 5 of the experiment. No change.

French fries still have great absorbency.

The beef after day 6, no change…

April 26, showers, 4-14 degrees. Day 7 of the experiment. Major breakthrough, there are two spots of mold on the bottom of the hamburger! No change for the beef and french fries. Aroma still unchanged.

And a look at the beef.

April 27, cloudy then clear skies, 5-16 degrees. Day 8 of the experiment. The moldy spots on the underside of the hamburger have enlarged. Mold has appeared on the upper half of the hamburger. Beef and french fries unchanged.

April 28, clear, 5-17 degrees. the two moldy spots underneath the hamburger have continued to increase in size, and there is a new moldy spot. Total of 3 moldy spots. Moldy spot on top has gotten larger, with a new moldy spot, total of two spots. The rest unchanged.

And a look at the side.

April 29, clear, 8-19 degrees. The three mold spots on the bottom of the hamburger have grown, a new mold has appeared on the top, for a total of 3 spots [on top]. Rest unchanged.

April 30, clear, 10-26 degrees Day 11 of the experiment, multiple moldy spots have appeared on both the bottom and top of the hamburger. The affected areas continue to grow. A white colored [bacteria?] colony has appeared on the surface of the beef. French fries have not changed.

April 30, a look from another angle.

From another angle.

May 1, clear, 15-30 degrees. Day 12 of the experiment. The mold on the bottom of the hamburger has increase significantly, french fries unchanged

May 1, a very large portion of the beef’s surface has been covered by the white colony.

May 2, dusty, 16-32 degrees. Day 13 of the experiment. The mold has nearly covered the entire hamburger. The colony on the beef has changed to green color, maybe the same strain as the one on the bread. The aroma has begun to turn sour. French fries unchanged.

May 3, clear then cloudy, 15-27 degrees. Day 14 of the experiment. The entirety of the hamburger has become moldy.

May 3, clear then cloudy, 15-27 degrees. Day 14 of the experiment. The mold on the beef has spread.

May 3, clear then cloudy, 15-27 degrees. Day 14 of the experiment. The french fries are hard, can bear 0.75kg of pressure without breaking, the 2kg dumbbell disc was its end.

May 4, clear, 16-26 degrees. Day 15 of the experiment. Today, the hamburger has become disgusting. There is basically no clean place left on the beef…everyone see the images for yourself… those who are disgusted have my deepest apologies.

Also. Let me say something to everyone.

First: My purpose for doing this experiment is mainly to prepare for a homework/project for a clinical medicine class. This course’s main topic is food safety, so I that’s why I did this. I do not represent any commercial position. Anyone who criticizes me in the future can immediately filter out.

Second: The original article I saw was that the nutritionist/dietitian was located in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. My geography is not good so I am not very familiar [with that place]. He placed the hamburger directly in a room. And it did not attract flies. Mine did not attract flies either. As for humidity, indeed Beijing rained for several days before the experiment began, and there was rather high humidity. It may have something to do with something called “water activity”. This is not something I do/am familiar with, so I did not get to the bottom of it.

Third: I have not used my hand to directly touch the hamburger before (too disgusting). Every time, I handle it with a plastic bag. This is how I dealt with the germs on my hands. Actually, in the air exist various different kinds of germs, its just that only in places conducive for germs will they breed. So, the germs on hands factor should be very small.

I welcome rational people to share their thoughts. More photographs posted below…”

And a look at the beef.

May 5, cloudy then clear, 14-25 degrees. Day 16 of the experiment. Mold continues to grow.

May 5, cloudy then clear, 14-25 degrees. Day 16 of the experiment. The wrapper for the hamburger has a large amount of moisture/water droplets, cause uncertain, if anyone knows, please share the real reason…the rest unchanged.

May 6, clear, 14-27 degrees. Day 17 of the experiment. No obvious change.

Also, I plan on soon going to the Beijing City Health Quarantine station to do some tests on this hamburger and french fries, and hope to uncover even deeper things. Again, several questions to ask of everyone.”

One, today I called the quarantine station, and they said they probably are not open to individuals, as I am a student. What should I do?

Two, if things go smoothly and I can test, what should I test for?

Thank you, everyone!

May 7, dusty, 14-27 degrees. Day 18 of the experiment. Fries have no noticeable change on the exterior.

May 8, cloudy, 15-28 degrees. Day 19 of the experiment. The hamburger has basically completely rotted, the texture has become soft, and is absorbing a lot of moisture. The hamburger wrapper has at least 5 ml of liquid.

I just saw a netizen leave a comment on Science Squirrel Community [another forum]. He said that when he was working at McDonald’s, he saw that oil McDonald’s uses is all palm oil. If this is true, then it I am even more certain that the french fries won’t go bad. I remember when taking nutrition class reading a document on using various saturated fatty acids, that amongst them, palm oil had the highest saturated fatty acid content [not sure if these scientific terms are translated correctly]. And currently, many of the instant noodles on the market are fried with palm oil. The shelf life of food products that have been fried in palm oil can be extended y 1-2 years…my god…I need to keep these french fries in my dorm for 2 years…

Pried apart to look inside.

May 9, cloudy then clear, 11-22 degrees. Day 20 of the experiment. The hamburger is completely rotten, while the french fries are not the least bit.

May 10, clear, 12-23 degrees. Day 21 of the experiment. Basically no change with the hamburger and french fries. Also, recently I clearly feel that after opening the hamburger, the exposed skin on my body becomes very itchy. I’m not sure what is the cause. Either way, now after I take photos, I must use Welch [a brand of soap] to wipe the table. To avoid having to open the wrapper/packaging every day (actually, it is already rotten) and releasing large quantities of bacteria into the air, today I have already switched the hamburger into a clear plastic bag, but don’t worry, everyone, I have not sealed the opening, so it isn’t airtight [or lack oxygen].

Begging the professionals: What is the most likely type/strain of bacteria/fungus/germ of this green fuzz? Penicillin or aflatoxin or something else [not sure about translations here]? How harmful to human health? Because I know aflatoxin’s is pretty carcinogenic.

I asked about professionally determining the species today, and the estimated money required was four digits, so I dropped the idea.

May 11, clear, 12-25 degrees, Day 22 of the experiment.

As a result of my body always feeling very itchy after opening the hamburger wrapper, and afraid that the threat to human heath is too big, yesterday I put the “hamburger” inside a clear plastic bag (without sealing it shut) planning to observe through the plastic bag. At the time, the plastic bag was very clear, but today…

Note: The yellow part is the bread on the top of the hamburger. Previously the completely green part was the bottom. As a result of lifting it up a few days ago but not wanting to flip the hamburger over, I did not photograph the top of the bun. Although the top part looks more yellow than the bottom part, it has already completely gone bad. It is not like bread anymore. Also, today has yielded this much liquid on the hamburger. I completely agree with what netizens have observed: The water produced from the process of breaking down of sugar.

Recently many people have been leaving comments, amongst them many very reasonable, that whether food rots or doesn’t rot has a lot to do with moisture and humidity, that food not eroded by micro-organisms is arbitrarily because of added preservatives, is not correct. I agree.

Yesterday someone said the french fry hanging a dumbbell was PS‘d, so today I selected another french fry to take photos. What is shocking is, a miracle happened…”

A temporary simple set-up, made of simple things, using a stack of books to hold down two chopsticks.

0.75kg is definitely kid’s stuff, today it broke 2kg…

In the end, even 2.5kg was no problem…

What it is hanging is not a dumbbell, but loneliness.

In the end, that french fry was able to hold firm, and I was moved by the french fry’s unwavering determination, so I did not continue tormenting it, so it can live out its old age…

May 12, clear, 12-27 degrees, day 23 of the experiment, no change.

One netizen’s suggestion I approved very much of, here appealing to people everywhere in the country to join me in perfoming experiments, to see the changes of a hamburger in different environments.

As for the control group, a control group for the hamburger’s is too difficult to do. The control group must be a controlled variable, and I do not know the hamburger’s formulation and production process. Therefore, I can’t even control this variable. Actually, it is enough that everyone enjoying the photos for this small experiment is enough. Whether the hamburger rots or doesn’t rot doesn’t actually demonstrate any specific problem.

Comments from Mop:

被套路的姐姐:

Those who will eat, will still eat. Those who will drink will still drink.
There has never been a shortage of negative news about such Western fast food.
But their business is still very good.
[Demonstrating that] the people of the Heavenly Kingdom cannot be changed.

亚克西kac:

Lanzhou awesome guy~~ [LZ is an awesome guy]

米有米:

It appears that french fries, after going through special processing, can become a type of completely new construction material.

kirva:

The mighty french fry is testing the LZ‘s enduranceso strong, just too thin…

暴力蟑螂:

I don’t have a McDonald’s near me, so if you have time, test what KFC’s food is like!

很想吃火锅:

Lou zhu’s experimental mentality is worthy of people’s admiration.

爱增肥的熊猫:

Ding, if you say KFC has problems, I would believe it, but if you say McDonald’s has problems, I wouldn’t believe it.

夜的爷们:

In rare situations, I would still eat [McDonald’s or fast food]~ Actually, domestic food is not clean either. It’s probably better to eat at home as much as possible.

魔女yapo:

I salute the great french fry.

崩溃中.:

Fuck! Godly post! No matter what, I too am a seasoned lurker~ but seeing this post, wow, I can only ding~

膜拜移动姐:

Lou zhu is so clever/has ideas/creative…Judging by those books holding down the chopsticks in your pictures above…
I can tell we did not study the same thing. [I] simply would have never thought of doing this kind of experiment…

Vestino:

That Mr. Brousseau may be working for KFC or Burger King.

macintoshmop:

Yikes, I never liked junk food. With you showing this, I no longer have the courage to even go eat it with my wife!”

Great and mighty french fries. chinaSMACK personals.