# The REAL Reason McDonalds Ice Cream Machines Are Always Broken



## qubit (Apr 25, 2021)

This video has had over a million views in the two days that it's been out and I can see why - it's riveting. Check it out.


----------



## jboydgolfer (Apr 25, 2021)

no joke, the damn things are always broke.
my daughter loves the mocha frappes & for 4 weeks, every time id go to Mcdingus, & ask for one, they'd say 'sorry we're not serving any frozen desserts, our machine is being serviced'

i finally asked them wtf, & they admitted, the machine was busted, & they were awaiting repairs.
i worked at mcdonals when i was younger, & i used to pour that disgusting white liquid bag in there every morning, they never clean the thing.


----------



## PooPipeBoy (Apr 25, 2021)

Almost back two decades ago my local (Aussie) McDonalds had a broken icecream machine for the best part of a year. I reckon it's even more difficult/expensive to get repairs here and so they just gave up.


----------



## qubit (Apr 25, 2021)

Oh it's a right scam, because the same company, Taylors, makes similar machines for other fast food joints which work a lot better. I don't want to give away spoilers, so can't say too much here.


----------



## Steevo (Apr 26, 2021)

jboydgolfer said:


> no joke, the damn things are always broke.
> my daughter loves the mocha frappes & for 4 weeks, every time id go to Mcdingus, & ask for one, they'd say 'sorry we're not serving any frozen desserts, our machine is being serviced'
> 
> i finally asked them wtf, & they admitted, the machine was busted, & they were awaiting repairs.
> i worked at mcdonals when i was younger, & i used to pour that disgusting white liquid bag in there every morning, they never clean the thing.


I worked at McD for awhile when I was 15 and usually closed, cleaning it was a hour, it froze up ice where the paddle wouldn’t touch which always broke the plastic drive coupler. They could never order extras, and it took to long to empty, run warm water through it, and if the idiot cleaning it didn’t press the right buttons at the right time it froze the cleaning water breaking the coupler just like if you didn’t clean it ever couple days. Poor design.


----------



## dir_d (Apr 26, 2021)

That was a good watch


----------



## qubit (Apr 26, 2021)

Steevo said:


> I worked at McD for awhile when I was 15 and usually closed, cleaning it was a hour, it froze up ice where the paddle wouldn’t touch which always broke the plastic drive coupler. They could never order extras, and it took to long to empty, run warm water through it, and if the idiot cleaning it didn’t press the right buttons at the right time it froze the cleaning water breaking the coupler just like if you didn’t clean it ever couple days. Poor design.


So easy to break with one wrong move? Sounds like it was designed to do that. Not surprising once you've seen the video.


----------



## 64K (Apr 26, 2021)

McDonalds food is disgusting in general to me. I've never had their ice cream but I have had their milk shake. Tastes like chemicals to me. I will occasionally eat at Taco Bell, Arbys, Wendys, Chick-Fil-A, Captain Ds, Subway and Sonic but I haven't eaten at McDonalds for at least 20 years.


----------



## Deleted member 205776 (Apr 26, 2021)

Fast food is disgusting to me... lol. Always preferred cooking


----------



## Mussels (Apr 26, 2021)

I worked in hungry jacks (aussie burger king) for 7 years, we share the same machines as the aussie Mcdonalds.

Before watching the video i'll state what i learned.

1. The stores MUST use that supplier and no other, as part of their franchise.
2. The machines have a lifetime warranty, but repairs must ONLY be done through one repair company
3. That company only stocks parts for the latest machines, so older machines can take months to get a part manufactured (we'd often have downtime of 3-4 MONTHS unless they bought another store a new machine and we got their old one)
4. the machines are worth something like $40K, so they simply cant be replaced with the new models easily (or fast, orders take a year or so to arrive here)

They get torn down for cleaning every 14 days, and we'd always find mould, cracked seals and gross shit inside it - and you never know how long the issue has been present before that cleaning. Then store management has a decision to make about cleaning it up and hoping for the best, or losing sales...


the 4 hour cleaning cycle is correct, but that was always started at 7am on a monday morning... never in peak sales periods
edit: ah they mean the heat cycle... that happens at midnight. You know, when the store was closed?


Edit: we used the C602 from the video


----------



## rtwjunkie (Apr 26, 2021)

Just finished the video. This was actually some of the best journalism I’ve seen or read in years. It really was very much old-school investigative journalism. 

@Mussels most of your points are in fact issues. Corruption to the bone is the bottom line.


----------



## Mussels (Apr 26, 2021)

Yeah look, step by step he's covering the same things i found out over the years dealing with that exact same machine - my findings matched his quite well

We had one repair guy. One.
FOR THE FUCKING STATE.


----------



## Flanker (Apr 26, 2021)

Steevo said:


> I worked at McD for awhile when I was 15 and usually closed, cleaning it was a hour, it froze up ice where the paddle wouldn’t touch which always broke the plastic drive coupler. They could never order extras, and it took to long to empty, run warm water through it, and if the idiot cleaning it didn’t press the right buttons at the right time it froze the cleaning water breaking the coupler just like if you didn’t clean it ever couple days. Poor design.


OMG exactly this. I worked there for a year in high school and saw the same thing. We had two machines but only ever seen one working. Our manager felt closing takes too long so we clean it in the quiet hours of the afternoon.


----------



## 64K (Apr 26, 2021)

Mussels said:


> They get torn down for cleaning every 14 days, and we'd always find mould, cracked seals and gross shit inside it



That is truly puke-worthy. It's a wonder they weren't making some customers sick.


----------



## Mussels (Apr 26, 2021)

64K said:


> That is truly puke-worthy. It's a wonder they weren't making some customers sick.


they probably were, we'd never know

there was always an incentive to ghetto fix it and just keep it running no matter what, to avoid the service fees


----------



## freeagent (Apr 26, 2021)

I heard about this a few years ago. Its pretty gross. I bring my kids to DQ or a smaller mom and pop shops. We only go there because our kids like happy meals.. and the staff still screw it up.

And I love their chicken nuggets and sausage mc muffins..


----------



## Gmr_Chick (Apr 26, 2021)

@qubit  firstly, thank you for this video. Was a great one, for sure! 

After watching it, however, I'm not sure what's worse - the fact that the manufacturer (Taylor) of the machine and McDick's have a scummy AF partnership dating back decades; the fact that a quarter of said manufacturer's revenue comes from "service fees", meaning it pays to keep shit as broken as possible; or the nauseating fact that the white liquid (dairy, essentially) in the machine isn't disposed of at the end of the day, but rather HEATED to a certain point (to apparently kill bacteria or whatever) and then REUSED for the next day's service! (where's the puking emoji when you need it?)


----------



## freeagent (Apr 26, 2021)

Oh its true, I talked to an employee after hours and she laid it all out. Its a scumbag corporation who doesn't deserve your money.


----------



## Fangio1951 (Apr 26, 2021)

Unbelievable video - I wonder why there hasn't been an anticompetitive case investigated = corruption/collusion at it's finest !!!!!


----------



## rtwjunkie (Apr 26, 2021)

freeagent said:


> I love their chicken nuggets


I saw something the other day on that. In North America at least, the nuggets aren’t made here. After slaughter, chicken meat is shipped to China for them the process it into nuggets, at which point it is shipped back here. I’ll not speculate on content or how cost-effective that is, just pointing out another interesting McDonalds tidbit.


----------



## qubit (Apr 26, 2021)

64K said:


> McDonalds food is disgusting in general to me. I've never had their ice cream but I have had their milk shake. Tastes like chemicals to me. I will occasionally eat at Taco Bell, Arbys, Wendys, Chick-Fil-A, Captain Ds, Subway and Sonic but I haven't eaten at McDonalds for at least 20 years.





Vanny said:


> Fast food is disgusting to me... lol. Always preferred cooking


I wish more people found fast food disgusting like you two do, including me. Fast food joints would go out of business, people would be healthier and not so many animals would get slaughtered.



rtwjunkie said:


> Just finished the video. This was actually some of the best journalism I’ve seen or read in years. It really was very much old-school investigative journalism.
> 
> @Mussels most of your points are in fact issues. Corruption to the bone is the bottom line.


I thought that, too. He really put in the legwork for that one. Note that he couldn't have done it without knowing someone on the inside who gave him all those manuals, though. I've subbed that channel based on this one video.



Gmr_Chick said:


> @qubit  firstly, thank you for this video. Was a great one, for sure!
> 
> After watching it, however, I'm not sure what's worse - the fact that the manufacturer (Taylor) of the machine and McDick's have a scummy AF partnership dating back decades; the fact that a quarter of said manufacturer's revenue comes from "service fees", meaning it pays to keep shit as broken as possible; *or the nauseating fact that the white liquid (dairy, essentially) in the machine isn't disposed of at the end of the day, but rather HEATED to a certain point (to apparently kill bacteria or whatever) and then REUSED for the next day's service! (where's the puking emoji when you need it?)*


I think the bold bit, for sure. I couldn't believe it when I saw this. This puts customer's health at risk and is clearly flogging a substandard product. Obviously machines should be flushed out regularly, but clearly this doesn't happen.



Fangio1951 said:


> Unbelievable video - I wonder why there hasn't been an anticompetitive case investigated = corruption/collusion at it's finest !!!!!


Yes, I was wondering that. It's clearly a form of cartel and it's been going on for decades now. Wouldn't surprise me if they've got connections with the government for them to look the other way.


----------



## freeagent (Apr 26, 2021)

rtwjunkie said:


> I saw something the other day on that. In North America at least, the nuggets aren’t made here. After slaughter, chicken meat is shipped to China for them the process it into nuggets, at which point it is shipped back here. I’ll not speculate on content or how cost-effective that is, just pointing out another interesting McDonalds tidbit.


Of course, because nothing is sacred 

I don't even dip them 

They just turn into a hard lump in my belly until the morning.. and I swell from the sodium, or whatever it is.. I know its not chicken. Well.. maybe there's a little in there..

Although the crispy chicken blt is pretty yummy..

But those sausage mc muffins are so good. One of my many weaknesses..

Its the tasteful blend of nitrites and sodium that do it for me, and the cheese.. especially if its toasted just right..

Like I said..

Scumbag corporation 

Edit:

I am hungry btw.. about to raid the cookie jar..


----------



## jboydgolfer (Apr 26, 2021)

liquid product too viscous, run at 45F for one hour to thin mixture.   
just take the top off, & pour a half cup of hot water from the coffee machine in. 


McDonalds 'the fresh maker'


----------



## bobbybluz (Apr 26, 2021)

I don't eat fast food and it's been over 50+ years since I ate anything from a McDonalds (due to founder Ray Kroc being a large financial supporter of Richard Nixon). I've been through several home ice cream makers over the years plus we have a thing known as frozen custard here that puts regular ice cream to shame (people actually stand in line outside at -15 F during blizzards for it) so I can score the best of the best nearly anytime to satisfy my cravings. The chemical-filled garbage places like McDonalds sell isn't even on my radar. You are what you eat is true.


----------



## FireFox (Apr 26, 2021)

64K said:


> I will occasionally eat at Taco Bell, Arbys, Wendys, Chick-Fil-A, Captain Ds, Subway and Sonic


You missed KFC   
At the age of 20 i worked at McDonalds for a year and never saw a machine broken.


----------



## Fangio1951 (Apr 26, 2021)

FireFox said:


> You missed KFC
> At the age of 20 i worked at McDonalds for a year and never saw a machine broken.


What, was that shortly after world war 2 - when things were made to last......


----------



## R-T-B (Apr 26, 2021)

Why is this in science and technology?

I mean...  it's a milkshake machine conspiracy thread.  Even if a valid conspiracy (which it does sound like), it strikes me as more lounge materiel...  not science.


----------



## jboydgolfer (Apr 26, 2021)

bobbybluz said:


> that puts regular ice cream to shame


ill take a McDonalds hot fudge sunadae over that long line frozen mustard any day

of course there is better, but a lot of people grow up eating foods like mcdonalds, spaghettio's, & mac n cheese, & other garbage....its not about politics, or 'my frozen caviar is significantly more tantalizing than your nixon ice cream', its more about remembering or comfort food, & if youre 50+, you should know that.

gatekeeping dessert 101


----------



## Caring1 (Apr 26, 2021)

Fangio1951 said:


> Unbelievable video - I wonder why there hasn't been an anticompetitive case investigated = corruption/collusion at it's finest !!!!!


For what?
Having an exclusive service contract?


----------



## maxfly (Apr 26, 2021)

Ive never been able to stomach ice cream from a machine for some reason but my wifes entire family worked part time at DQ during their high school years so she friggin loves the stuff. Makes no difference to her where it comes from either. during the summer she will pop in and get an ice cream cone or shake from mcdonsers regularly...im pretttty sure that will change after she sees this!


----------



## qubit (Apr 26, 2021)

Caring1 said:


> For what?
> Having an exclusive service contract?


The reporter in the video also concluded that it’s anticompetitive. If you’ve actually watched the video and understood it, you’ll see that it’s patently obvious that it’s an anticompetitive tactic. Exclusive contracts inherently are so must have appropriate safeguards in place. This one clearly does not.


----------



## X71200 (Apr 26, 2021)

Cook or have 2 meals cooked a day so you won't need no Mc's. That stuff will chew through your veins in the longer run, ending up with illnesses at rather early ages. As for the ice cream, personally all I ask for a desert at home is a basic BIT of chocolate just to sweeten my mouth. If I'm at a restaurant, I'd take something small like a tiramisu generally. Control your mouth and don't fall to these things...


----------



## sepheronx (Apr 26, 2021)

X71200 said:


> Cook or have 2 meals cooked a day so you won't need no Mc's. That stuff will chew through your veins in the longer run, ending up with illnesses at rather early ages. As for the ice cream, personally all I ask for a desert at home is a basic BIT of chocolate just to sweeten my mouth. If I'm at a restaurant, I'd take something small like a tiramisu generally. Control your mouth and don't fall to these things...


Well, there is some old guy in the US who had a big Mac every day since it came out. He is still alive.

I'm no fan of McDonalds besides maybe what is on the dollar menu.  I do love their Cadbury creme egg mcflurry during Easter.  That's about it.

Wendy's is a much better burger up here.  At least as far as fast food goes.


----------



## X71200 (Apr 26, 2021)

One individual is not speaking for everyone though, Mc's food is cold meat with bad fats, potatoes, w/e. Not everybody's metabolism is the same but generally speaking, Mc's can get you fatter or make you end up with vein / heart related problems after a long time. 

Obviously if you're working out or have a good metabolism, you might not get the fat. Though you should still avoid it for the sake of your own cardiovascular health. It might be acceptable for once in a long while, like when there's no food... but all day everyday is really no good.


----------



## sepheronx (Apr 26, 2021)

X71200 said:


> One individual is not speaking for everyone though, Mc's food is cold meat with bad fats, potatoes, w/e. Not everybody's metabolism is the same but generally speaking, Mc's can get you fatter or make you end up with vein / heart related problems after a long time.
> 
> Obviously if you're working out or have a good metabolism, you might not get the fat. Though you should still avoid it for the sake of your own cardiovascular health. It might be acceptable for once in a long while, like when there's no food... but all day everyday is really no good.


I was told by various people that all of our food is more or less garbage and eating McDonalds is no worst. Just that eating too much is no good and that comes in general.  I wouldn't doubt it either as most food in Canada is heavily processed.

I figure the worst parts of fast food is the soda, the bread and the French fries.


----------



## 64K (Apr 26, 2021)

It's fast food places like McDonalds that contributes to 1/3 of Americans being obese and another 1/3 being overweight.






Double Quarter Pounder meal. 1270 calories.


----------



## sepheronx (Apr 26, 2021)

64K said:


> It's fast food places like McDonalds that contributes to 1/3 of Americans being obese and another 1/3 being overweight.
> 
> View attachment 198174
> 
> Double Quarter Pounder meal. 1270 calories.


Yeah, that is excessive.

The French fries alone are what? 330 - 500 Cal's?  I assume the pop is added with its sugar (assuming not diet).


----------



## R0H1T (Apr 26, 2021)

Ah good ol' Capitalism at its finest 

You line up my pockets, I'll do yours 

Kind of reminds me of *Wintel*.


----------



## sepheronx (Apr 26, 2021)

McDouble®: Calories and Nutrition | McDonald’s
					

McDonald’s McDouble® has two all beef patties and one slice of American cheese, Enjoy one at your nearest McDonald’s!




					www.mcdonalds.com
				




Even a McDouble is 400 cal.  And you can easily eat 3 of these.  

Wow.  That is excessive.  One more and that's a single days worth of Cal's you should eat.


----------



## Splinterdog (Apr 26, 2021)

A superbly presented documentary which left me wondering about the other fast food outlets that use the same machines and why Taylors haven't tried this trick with them.


----------



## Gmr_Chick (Apr 26, 2021)

64K said:


> *It's fast food places like McDonalds that contributes to 1/3 of Americans being obese and another 1/3 being overweight.*
> 
> View attachment 198174
> 
> Double Quarter Pounder meal. 1270 calories.



That's BS though? Nobody is FORCING those people to eat this kind of shit -- it's a choice. Fact of the matter is, people CHOOSE to eat this. People also choose to sit in front of the TV all day, or glued to their tablets (children especially; my niece is one of them) or what have you. Everything is a choice. I mean, are you gonna put blame squarely on Apple and Amazon for making devices (iPad and Fire tablet) that contribute heavily to childhood obesity (and addiction)?

I'm not going to lie, I LOVE Carls Jr. (Hardees in other parts of the country) burgers, specially their Famous Star and Western Burger. Wendy's has some good burgers too. But I don't eat it every single day, or for every meal, either. And I don't order the largest size or drink regular Coke, which I find sweet as hell. Only time I really eat fast food is if it's an "off day" for cooking around here or it's too hot to cook. But you know what too though? There will be times when I'll want to get a medium sized combo, or a Double Western (basically two patties) "just because", and that's OK too. It only becomes a problem when that's ALL you eat. 

That double quarter pounder got me all drooling like Homer over here, lol. Just nix the onions though 



Splinterdog said:


> A superbly presented documentary which left me wondering about the other fast food outlets that use the same machines and why Taylors haven't tried this trick with them.


----------



## AsRock (Apr 26, 2021)




----------



## Mr.Scott (Apr 26, 2021)

64K said:


> It's fast food places like McDonalds that contributes to 1/3 of Americans being obese and another 1/3 being overweight.
> 
> View attachment 198174
> 
> Double Quarter Pounder meal. 1270 calories.


Don't blame the game, blame the player.
They're not shoving it down anybody's throat.


----------



## qubit (Apr 27, 2021)

Splinterdog said:


> A superbly presented documentary which left me wondering about the other fast food outlets that use the same machines and why Taylors haven't tried this trick with them.


I think they haven't, because they're not forced into an exclusive contract to trade as that franchise, so can go somewhere else for their ice cream machines. In other words, competition.

There's other stuff I wanna say, but unfortunately, it's way too off topic, so I can't.


----------



## bobbybluz (Apr 27, 2021)

Gmr_Chick said:


> That's BS though? Nobody is FORCING those people to eat this kind of shit -- it's a choice. Fact of the matter is, people CHOOSE to eat this. People also choose to sit in front of the TV all day, or glued to their tablets (children especially; my niece is one of them) or what have you. Everything is a choice. I mean, are you gonna put blame squarely on Apple and Amazon for making devices (iPad and Fire tablet) that contribute heavily to childhood obesity (and addiction)?
> 
> I'm not going to lie, I LOVE Carls Jr. (Hardees in other parts of the country) burgers, specially their Famous Star and Western Burger. Wendy's has some good burgers too. But I don't eat it every single day, or for every meal, either. And I don't order the largest size or drink regular Coke, which I find sweet as hell. Only time I really eat fast food is if it's an "off day" for cooking around here or it's too hot to cook. But you know what too though? There will be times when I'll want to get a medium sized combo, or a Double Western (basically two patties) "just because", and that's OK too. It only becomes a problem when that's ALL you eat.
> 
> That double quarter pounder got me all drooling like Homer over here, lol. Just nix the onions though


In the late 80's I had a gig for about one year servicing meat processing equipment. Saws, grinders and slicers mainly. Most of my work involved going to meat processing plants, restaurants and large chain grocery stores (Kohl's was our biggest account back when they still sold food). Some of the plants were hideous while others were spotless. I quickly learned which fast food places to avoid because ALL of the meat used locally came from those processing plants. For commercial fast food Wendy's had the best cuts and least fat, Sonic was the worst. McDonalds would be considered average along with Burger King and a few others. One local A&W only used 95% lean ground sirloin for their burgers and that became the only place I went to. George the owner lived next door and his entire family worked there. He said they ate most of their own meals there and if it wasn't good enough for his own family he wasn't going to sell it to customers. There was a McDonalds 1/2 block away and I asked him if that hurt his business at all. He laughed and said "My customers won't eat that shit". Countless customers were very sad when he finally retired around 20 years ago. The McDonalds is now on the site where George's A&W was.

Sonic's purveyor had been busted a few times by the Feds and getting into the place involved calling them from a pay phone (no cell phones back then) so the guards at the gate would unlock it for me when I arrived. The parking lot had 14 foot high fences with razor wire on top. It looked like a prison. I hated going there and the company I worked for referred to the place as "Rancid Meats", something very close to their actual name. I personally saw employees dumping gray fat into large mixers to make the final product less lean. When done mixing it had an odd brownish color I never saw anyplace else. As far as I know they're out of business now. 

One of our accounts was a national seafood restaurant chain and they were notoriously bad for cleanliness standards. They had two locations in the city and we always found maggots in the meat saws they used to cut frozen fish. Pouring and spraying bleach over anything we were going to be servicing was standard practice. They were a favorite target of the City Health Department. Both of those places are vacant lots now.

That job was an eye-opening experience and is one of the main reasons I don't eat fast food anymore. It only added to what I already knew from cooking in restaurants when I was much younger and that in itself is another much longer story. Absolutely nothing businesses do surprises me.


----------



## Gmr_Chick (Apr 27, 2021)

bobbybluz said:


> In the late 80's I had a gig for about one year servicing meat processing equipment. Saws, grinders and slicers mainly. Most of my work involved going to meat processing plants, restaurants and large chain grocery stores (Kohl's was our biggest account back when they still sold food). Some of the plants were hideous while others were spotless. I quickly learned which fast food places to avoid because ALL of the meat used locally came from those processing plants. For commercial fast food Wendy's had the best cuts and least fat, Sonic was the worst. McDonalds would be considered average along with Burger King and a few others. One local A&W only used 95% lean ground sirloin for their burgers and that became the only place I went to. George the owner lived next door and his entire family worked there. He said they ate most of their own meals there and if it wasn't good enough for his own family he wasn't going to sell it to customers. There was a McDonalds 1/2 block away and I asked him if that hurt his business at all. He laughed and said "My customers won't eat that shit". Countless customers were very sad when he finally retired around 20 years ago. The McDonalds is now on the site where George's A&W was.
> 
> Sonic's purveyor had been busted a few times by the Feds and getting into the place involved calling them from a pay phone (no cell phones back then) so the guards at the gate would unlock it for me when I arrived. The parking lot had 14 foot high fences with razor wire on top. It looked like a prison. I hated going there and the company I worked for referred to the place as "Rancid Meats", something very close to their actual name. I personally saw employees dumping gray fat into large mixers to make the final product less lean. When done mixing it had an odd brownish color I never saw anyplace else. As far as I know they're out of business now.
> 
> ...



Slightly off topic but, good sir, you sound cool as hell. And I loved reading your post. I'd like to hear more, gladly!


----------



## MentalAcetylide (May 1, 2021)

sepheronx said:


> Well, there is some old guy in the US who had a big Mac every day since it came out. He is still alive.
> 
> I'm no fan of McDonalds besides maybe what is on the dollar menu.  I do love their Cadbury creme egg mcflurry during Easter.  That's about it.
> 
> Wendy's is a much better burger up here.  At least as far as fast food goes.


Oh hell no! You couldn't pay me to eat a Wendy's burger. The last time I ate a cheeseburger from there it felt like I had a rock in my stomach like 20 minutes after eating it and soon after felt sick to my stomach. F*** Wendy's in general, I say. 

If anyone finds themselves hooked on eating out, just watch the movie Waiting. You'll never eat out again! 



64K said:


> It's fast food places like McDonalds that contributes to 1/3 of Americans being obese and another 1/3 being overweight.
> 
> View attachment 198174
> 
> Double Quarter Pounder meal. 1270 calories.


That's only true up to a certain point. When people are necking down 3000+ calories per day, regardless of the carb & fat types being consumed, and spend most of the day sitting on their ass & barely moving, its going to get fat. Fast food just speeds it up somewhat, probably why "fast" was placed in front of "food" when they dubbed it.



bobbybluz said:


> In the late 80's I had a gig for about one year servicing meat processing equipment. Saws, grinders and slicers mainly. Most of my work involved going to meat processing plants, restaurants and large chain grocery stores (Kohl's was our biggest account back when they still sold food). Some of the plants were hideous while others were spotless. I quickly learned which fast food places to avoid because ALL of the meat used locally came from those processing plants. For commercial fast food Wendy's had the best cuts and least fat, Sonic was the worst. McDonalds would be considered average along with Burger King and a few others. One local A&W only used 95% lean ground sirloin for their burgers and that became the only place I went to. George the owner lived next door and his entire family worked there. He said they ate most of their own meals there and if it wasn't good enough for his own family he wasn't going to sell it to customers. There was a McDonalds 1/2 block away and I asked him if that hurt his business at all. He laughed and said "My customers won't eat that shit". Countless customers were very sad when he finally retired around 20 years ago. The McDonalds is now on the site where George's A&W was.
> 
> Sonic's purveyor had been busted a few times by the Feds and getting into the place involved calling them from a pay phone (no cell phones back then) so the guards at the gate would unlock it for me when I arrived. The parking lot had 14 foot high fences with razor wire on top. It looked like a prison. I hated going there and the company I worked for referred to the place as "Rancid Meats", something very close to their actual name. I personally saw employees dumping gray fat into large mixers to make the final product less lean. When done mixing it had an odd brownish color I never saw anyplace else. As far as I know they're out of business now.
> 
> ...


Hmm... yeah, its strange how stuff like this gets swept under a rug... but I think the top people in those companies should be swept under a street-sweeper and deposited at the nearest Port-O-Potty dump.


----------



## sepheronx (May 1, 2021)

Waiting? I'll have to check it out then.  I'm not a fan of eating out but it is convenient.


----------

