People either love or hate McDonald’s French fries. For those who prefer their fries to be thin and salty, the McDonald’s fry is the perfect sideshow to their burger/nuggets/salad. If for nothing else, McDonald’s have mastered the art of consistency and no matter how many times a week or a year you have their fries, they’ll always look and taste the same.

The fries have been a staple for as long as McDonald’s has been around. That’s a lot of potatoes peeled, cut and fried and millions of them dipped in sauce or tucked inside the burger. And yet, despite the consumption, nobody really knows how these French fries are made.

The people behind McDonald’s want to change this. They want to prove that there’s nothing wrong with how they make their food. This is the reason why they have opened their doors to show people exactly how their fries are made. The process, however, can leave you hating these fries, at least, this is what some people want you to do.

Most people assume that the reason we don’t know much about McDonald’s French fries is that they chose to keep their recipe a secret. Others, however, believe there is more to this secretiveness. They are alleging that the reason is that they are hiding something that could ruin the franchise.

One of the people alleging that there is more than what you see in the McDonald’s French Fries is Michael Pollan. The latter is a professor of journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. He claims that if people knew what really went into the making of these French fries, then people would be disgusted.

Pollan has done his research on the McDonald’s French fries. He claims that the franchise uses a specific potato that browns very easily. As a result, a harmful pesticide is used to keep the potato from losing its color.

Pollan claims that the pesticide lingers for weeks after it is sprayed on the potato. He said: “When they harvest they have to put them in these atmosphere-controlled sheds the size of a football stadium because they are not edible for six weeks.” Eating these fries soon after they are sprayed could lead to a number of health risks such as difficulty breathing, slurred speech, coma and even death.

Pollan makes a strong case against these fries. It’s no wonder then that McDonald’s decided to give people a glimpse into their production process to show people how their fries are made. The footage starts by showing tons of potatoes being unloaded from the trucks. 

The potatoes are then washed and skinned and sent in a high-pressure water-tube to get cleaned. The potatoes are passed through a grater. When they come out of the tube, they are already cut into that trademark McDonald’s French fry shape.

The footage then shows the uncooked fries being sprinkled with sugar. The latter is used to help food keep its coloration. The potatoes then move to a conveyor belt where sodium acid pyrophosphate is sprinkled to keep them from turning grey once they are frozen.

There are more things added to the fries for “treatment.” Watch the video to get a better picture of the whole process. You can choose to make your own judgment about this French fry.

This is not the first time McDonald’s have worked on damage control. Rumors are constantly swirling around the giant franchise about their food. Recently, McDonald’s aired a commercial squashing the rumors about the meat they use, insisting that their burgers are made from 100% beef.

Then there is the whole issue about why McDonald’s burgers never seem to rot. This issue was the result of the story of the guy who forgot a McDonald’s burger in his suit jacket for years and when he found it, it was still intact. Makes you wonder the kind of preservatives used because it’s natural for food to rot.

When you choose to have a burger, you know that you’re not going for the healthiest option. Pollan isn’t telling us something we don’t already know. Eating burgers and fries is a conscious decision to eat junk food and when done moderately, there is nothing wrong with this.

What’s wrong is when the junk food we choose to eat is piled with more than just oil and fat. If Pollan’s allegations are true, then we are eating more than just junk. We are eating something that is artificial and even more harmful to our body. Eat your fries, yes, fine. But if you must eat junk food, then choose the good kind. Fries that are peeled right in front of you and cooked in good oil.