L’hamburger con l’idrossido d’ammonio

Circola da tempo la storia che gli hamburger di McDonald siano un composto di poca carne di manzo, resti e scarti di altre bestie e ammoniaca. La cosa fa abbastanza schifo a dirsi, figurarsi a mangiarlo, quell’hamburger. Ma come spesso succede con queste notizie allarmistico/salutiste le cose non stanno proprio così.

Partiamo da lontanissimo, la notizia è girata via catena di e-mail in inglese, qui un esempio delle mail che hanno circolato (oggi diventate post su Facebook e articoli di “giornali d’informazione” online):

“I knew there was a reason why I like Jamie Oliver!!
Hamburger chef Jamie Oliver has just won a battle against one of the largest fast food chains in the world. After Oliver showed how McDonald’s hamburgers are made, the franchise announced it will change its recipe.According to Oliver, the fatty parts of beef are “washed” in ammonium hydroxide and used in the filling of the burger. Before this process, according to the presenter, the food is deemed unfit for human consumption.According to the chef and presenter, Jamie Oliver, who has undertaken a war against the fast food industry: “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.”Besides the low quality of the meat, the ammonium hydroxide is harmful to health. Oliver calls it “the pink slime process.”“Why would any sensible human being put meat filled with ammonia in the mouths of their children?” asked the chef, who wages a war against the fast food industry.
In one of his initiatives, Oliver demonstrates to children how nuggets are made. After selecting the best parts of the chicken, the remains (fat, skin and internal organs) are processed for these fried foods.The company, Arcos Dorados, the franchise manager in Latin America, said such a procedure is not practiced in the region. The same applies to the product in Ireland and the UK, where they use meat from local suppliers.In the United States, Burger King and Taco Bell had already abandoned the use of ammonia in their products. The food industry uses ammonium hydroxide as an anti-microbial agent in meats, which has allowed McDonald’s to use otherwise “inedible meat.”Even more disturbing is that because ammonium hydroxide is considered part of the “component in a production procedure” by the USDA, consumers may not know when the chemical is in their food.
On the official website of McDonald’s, the company claims that their meat is cheap because, while serving many people every day, they are able to buy from their suppliers at a lower price, and offer the best quality products.In addition, the franchise denied that the decision to change the recipe is related to Jamie Oliver’s campaign. On the site, McDonald’s has admitted that they have abandoned the beef filler from its burger patties.”

L’idrossido d’ammonio (e non l’ammoniaca) era presente in tanti prodotti di McDonald fino al 2012, ed è tutt’ora presente in moltissimi prodotti alimentari sul mercato, non è considerato pericoloso per l’organismo dalla FDA Americana, specie nei quantitativi usati, anzi viene usato comunemente!

Detto ciò il resto dell’articolo è pura fantasia dell’autore, partendo dalle feci, passando per le carcasse degli animali (ricordiamo che il famoso pink slime è a sua volta una bufala), anzi degli autori originali, volendo se cercate su Snopes o Hoax-slayer di bufale su McDonald ne trovate a bizzeffe  (lo stesso SuperSizeMe si è rivelato una bufalona).

Che dire, siamo tutti d’accordo che i fast food non siano il massimo del salutare, ma attaccare delle aziende con falsità è squallido, il dubbio è che dietro ci siano come sempre integralisti alimentari o aziende concorrenti.

Qui alcuni spacciatori di Bufala:
http://www.italiatoday.info/lhamburger-di-mcdonalds-contiene-solo-il-15-di-manzo-il-resto-sono-scarti-ed-ammoniaca/
http://www.signoraggio.it/lhamburger-di-mcdonalds-contiene-solo-il-15-di-manzo-il-resto-sono-scarti-ed-ammoniaca/

Se ti è piaciuto l’articolo, sostienici su Patreon o su PayPal! Può bastare anche il costo di un  caffè!