This article was published in November 2010 – since publication McDonald’s have changed procedures – we have included an update below the main article
With food scares and links between meat and cancer in the news more and more, people in the UK are now turning towards a vegetarian diet.
There are about 3 million vegetarians in the UK, that is around 5% of the adult population, and in the last 10 years that number has practically doubled.
Unfortunately though, even in this day and age, trying to stick to a strict Vegetarian diet can be rather tricky and if you’re a regular McDonald’s fan, then prepare yourself for the following information or click away now!
While tucking into The McDonald’s Veggie Deli we decided to take a look at the fat content etc, which was found on the back of one of the paper tray advertisements. To our shock and amazement it read “Veggie Deli – suitable for Vegetarians –NO”
Unable to notice anything meaty related inside, we strolled up to one of the staff and asked if this information was correct – the girl looked rather bemused and wondered if there may have been a misprint of the leaflets – ‘TONY’ she shrieked towards the back!
Emerging from depths of the cooking area young Tony appears and the girl serving us explains what we have discovered and he too looks rather confused and concludes it must be a misprint and starts checking the other leaflets! He explains that it definitely hasn’t got any meat in it and as it doesn’t contain any cheese (which could contain animal rennet) so it must be suitable for veggies?
Rather perplexed, we decided to investigate more and found out that in fact it’s not a misprint, and the ‘McDonalds’s Veggie Deli’ can not be approved by the ‘Vegetarian Society’ or be classed Vegetarian – so we asked them why not?
McDonald’s explained: “All the ingredients in the ‘McDonald’ s Spicy Veggie Deli are suitable for vegetarians (i.e. contain no ingredients of animal origin). The vegetable patty is cooked in a dedicated vat using a non-hydrogenated blend of rapeseed and sunflower oil (which is also suitable for vegetarians). However, due to the design of the oil filtration system there is a small chance the oil used to fry vegetable patties can come in contact with oil used to cook the chicken and fish products during the oil filtering process. We therefore cannot guarantee cross-contamination will not occur. McDonald’s French Fries have been officially accredited by the Vegetarian Society. This is because they are cooked in dedicated frying vats, with a completely separate filtering unit”
And if that surprised you then be prepared for another shock, because Orange Fanta once again it’s not suitable for veggie’s – but why not McDonald’s?
They explained: “Fanta is not suitable for vegetarians because it contains fish oil that is used as a carrier for the orange colour.”
So next time you take a visit to Maccy D’s it might just be an idea to stick to the salad at least that’s 100% Veggie eeeerrrrr well we think so anyway!
Article Update – 13 November 2013
McDonald’s now have Deli Choices with a Spicy Veggie Deli which has been approved by the Vegetarian Society. Some outlets will also do you a Vegetable Deluxe if you ask nicely too and we are pleased to say it is now suitable for Vegetarians
Well done Mcdonalds – now all we need is some genuine Vegetarian options and why does everything have to be spicy!
More good news – Fanta Orange at McDonald’s is now also Vegetarian, now all we need is the Quorn burger to return!