'There's no pink slime in our burgers'

'There's no pink slime in our burgers': First ever behind-the-scenes look at a US McDonald's factory as part of restaurant's new myth-busting campaign to put an end to THOSE rumors 

McDonald's has taken the unprecedented step of allowing cameras inside one of its secret food factory's for the first time in a bid to end the rumors and urban myths about how its Happy Meals and Big Macs are made.

Hurt by years of bad publicity amid claims of 'pink slime' chicken nuggets and Frankenfood, the fast food giant is pulling back its veil of production line secrecy to bring more transparency to its customers.

The dramatic move is all part McDonald's new campaign in which it will bravely invite members of the public to submit any questions they have always wanted to know the answers to about their food.

Throwing the doors wide open to their Fresno, California food plants, McDonald's invited in a news crew from Good Morning America as part of their 'Our Food. Your Questions' public relations drive.

Inside the cameras witnessed how the fast food firm processes 400,000 pounds of meat per day and confirmed that their burger patties are in fact 100 percent pure beef.

As part of the new campaign, a series of commercials will launch this week in which members of the public ask questions which are then answered on social media.

'We're starting on a journey called 'Our Food. Your Questions,' and we want to open up the doors and let our customers ask us any questions they have, and give them answers,' said company director of quality systems Rickette Collins to GMA.

While the nation has long wondered about the mass production of so much food in McDonald's 35,000 locations worldwide, the company has decided to finally provide the answers or proof for the doubters.

'This is being done to address the questions, the comments and the concerns of our customers,' said company chief brand manager Kevin Newell to GMA.

'It's not linked to the business performance at all. It's linked to making sure that our customers truly know the story about McDonald's food.'

Amid much of the mythbusting are questions about why its burgers may not rot and that there are no worms in its beef, through its 'Our Food. Your Questions.' campaign.

The world's biggest hamburger chain is confronting unappetizing questions as part of a U.S. campaign to beat back perceptions that it serves Frankenfood. The company has run similar campaigns in Canada and Australia and said Monday it's bringing the effort to its flagship market.

For its latest campaign, among the first issues McDonald's addresses are widely circulated online images and videos that show its burgers staying in tact after several weeks or even years. On its webpage, McDonald's says that's likely because the food has dehydrated, and that food needs moisture to form mold.

The company's responses to other questions such as 'Does McDonald's beef contain worms?' are more direct: 'No. Gross! End of story.' 

The company dismissed claims that it uses human meat on Twitter, telling a user '@seph725 that's gross and totally false.' 

On its website, the company denies that it uses 'pink slime' in chicken nuggets, saying 'No, our Chicken McNuggets do not contain what some people call 'pink slime' or 'pink goop.'

'We've seen the photo of 'pink goop' or 'pink slime' in association with McDonald's. Let's set the record straight: this image in connection with McDonald's is a myth. In fact, we don't know where it came from, but it's not our food. The photo is not a representation of how we create our Chicken McNuggets, or for that matter, any item on our menu.'

However, elsewhere McDonald's admits on the site that 'We use a small amount of an anti-foaming agent, dimethylpolysiloxane, in the oil we use to cook our Chicken McNuggets.'

It also reveals that 'pink slime' was used in a seven-year period for burgers, and that the chemical azodicarbonamide - which is used in yoga mats - is an ingredient in buns and rolls. 

'There are varied uses for azodicarbonamide, including in some non-food products, such as yoga mats. As a result, some people have suggested our food contains rubber or plastic, or that the ingredient is unsafe. It's simply not the case. Think of salt: the salt you use in your food at home is a variation of the salt you may use to de-ice your sidewalk. The same is true of ADA — it can be used in different ways.'

McDonald's also confesses to using hormones on its website, saying 'Most of the cattle we get our beef from are treated with added hormones, a common practice in the U.S. that ranchers use to promote growth.'

As part of its campaign, McDonald's let ABC News see how the beef is produced in a California factory. 

Director of Quality Systems Rickette Collins, while holding some meat, told reporter Gio Benitez 'This is what we call beef trim, and it comes from familiar cuts that you may know, like chuck and round and sirloin.'

Speaking about the quality of McDonald's food, she said it's 'Just like you get at the grocery store - you buy like an 80/20 blend.'

The new push comes as McDonald's fights to boost its performance in the U.S., where sales slid 1.5 percent at established locations in the most recent quarter, following a 0.2 percent dip for last year. 

In addition to increased competition, McDonald's is trying to keep up with changing tastes, with places such as Chipotle marketing their food as more wholesome alternatives.

To improve the image of its food, McDonald's recently rolled out chicken wraps with sliced cucumbers and the option to substitute egg whites in breakfast sandwiches. 

It also plans to eventually let people swap out the french fries in value meals with options like salad or vegetables.

Ben Stringfellow, vice president of communications for McDonald's USA, said in a phone interview with the Associated Press that the campaign is a new way of engaging with customers more directly. 

He noted people are demanding for more information about products across the board, not just from McDonald's.

'In many ways, it's the way the world is going,' he said.

National TV ads will begin airing Monday letting people know about the push. McDonald's says people can submit questions via social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. 

The company plans to respond to the most common questions with videos or other posts, as well as responding one-on-one to questions, Stringfellow said.

Laura Ries, a marketing consultant based in Atlanta, noted McDonald's risks bringing up unappetizing thoughts some people may never have heard about.

'I didn't know people thought there were worms in its beef, or that they didn't use real chicken,' Ries said.

Still, she agreed that companies have to be more responsive to questions from customers, especially at a time when people can amplify their concerns and criticisms to bigger audiences on social media.

slime - muł, szlam
myth - błędne przekonanie, mit
bust- rozbić, rozwalić (coś)
rumor (british rumour)- pogłoska, plotka
unprecedented - bezprecedensowy, niespotykany
bid - oferowana cena, oferta
urban - miejski
hurt - zranić
amid - wśród, pośród, pomiędzy
claim - twierdzić, utrzymywać
giant  - wielkolud, olbrzym, gigant
pull back - rezygnować, wycofywać się
veil - zasłaniać się; welon, zasłona
transparency - slajd, przezrocze; jawność (kłamstwa), przejrzystość (np. informacji)
bravely - dzielnie, odważnie
throw - rzucać, pchnąć silnie, zarzucić (np. komuś ramiona na szyję)
wide - szeroki, bogaty (wybór), szeroko otwarty (oczy)
witness - świadek
patty - pasztecik
pure - czysty, bez domieszek
worldwide- na całym świecie, na świecie
provide - dostarczyć, zapewniać
proof - dowód
doubter - wątpiący, niewierzący
performance - przestawienie, spektakl, występ
truly - naprawdę, prawdziwie; dokładnie, poprawnie
rot - gnić, psuć się; żartować, nabijać się
chain - łańcuch, łańcuszek
unappetizing - nieapetyczny
beat - pokonać, wygrać ( z kimś, czmś); bić, pobić
bring - przynieść, przywieźć
effort - wysiłek, trud
flagship - okręt flagowy; produkt sztandarowy, wizytówka firmy
widely - szeroko, powszechnie
circulate - utrzymać cyrkulację czegoś; udostępniać, rozpowszechniać
dehydrated - odwodniony; sproszkowany (np. o mleku)l suchy (o żywności)
mold (british mould) - forma; typ (np. osobowości); pleśń
deny - zaprzeczać (np. zarzutom), wypierwać się (czegoś), dementować
contain - zawierać
goop - paskudztwo, ohyda
association - stowarzyszenie, towarzystwo, zrzeszenie
straight - prosty
amount - ilość, liczba, wielkość
foam - piana (np. kąpielowa), pianka ( w kawie); spieniać, pienić się
reveal - wyjawić, ujawnić
ingredient - składnik, element
bun - bułka, drożdzówka, bułka maślana
varied - różnorodny, urozmaicony
sidewalk - chodnik
cattle - bydło
trim - przycinać, podcinać; obniżać, zmniejszać
grocery  - sklep spożywczy
boost  - pobudzać, zwiększać, poprawiać
increased - zwiększony, wzmożony
competition - konkurencja (w biznesie)
swap - zamieniać, wymieniać
airing - wietrzenie; spacer na świeżym powietrzu

źródło:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2791768/what-s-really-happy-meal-mcdonald-s-begins-online-campaign-explain-burgers-not-rot-deny-makes-frankenfoods.html