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The beefiness in your fast-food burger may not be exactly what it seems. Natalie Jeffcott/Stocksy
  • Beef, chicken, and fish products at fast-food restaurants aren't always made from 100 percentage meat.
  • They tin contain boosted additives, such as a textured vegetable poly peptide or a soy production, that make them cheaper to produce.
  • Health experts say these types of processed meats are less salubrious than unprocessed meats.
  • If you're concerned well-nigh the quality of the meat a fast-food institution is serving, health experts propose checking the ingredients list on the menu, as it may offer unprocessed options every bit well as plant-based alternatives.

Recently, The New York Times took a deep dive to get to the bottom of 1 of the bully questions of our fourth dimension:

Is the fish production included in restaurant chain Subway'south popular sandwiches actually tuna or… something else?

The investigative written report by journalist Julie Carmel was in response to a grade-action lawsuit in California filed back in January confronting the fast-nutrient giant. The lawsuit makes the claim that the make's tuna fish sandwiches "are completely bereft of tuna equally an ingredient."

The lawsuit spread far and broad, even eliciting some sympathy from pop star Jessica Simpson — herself once famously questioning the provenance of Chicken of the Sea (is it chicken or tuna, afterwards all?) — on Twitter.

The headlines generated around the tuna confusion played into the long-standing debate of what exactly is in the meat nosotros consume at fast-food restaurants.

How healthy are the highly processed items you lot might order at McDonald's or Subway? Are they everything they claim to be as advertised?

In an email argument to the The New York Times, a Subway spokesperson wrote that "in that location simply is no truth to the allegations in the complaint that was filed in California."

"Subway delivers 100 percent cooked tuna to its restaurants, which is mixed with mayonnaise and used in freshly made sandwiches, wraps and salads that are served to and enjoyed by our guests," they added.

For her part, Carmel sent samples of Subway tuna sandwiches to a commercial nutrient testing lab. The results were somewhat inconclusive.

The labs found that "no amplifiable tuna Dna was nowadays" in the samples she sent over, and that they could not "identify the species" present in the sandwich products.

A spokesperson from the lab told The New York Times that 2 conclusions exist from this: either the tuna products are "so heavily processed" that information technology was impossible to make a clear identification of tuna, or "there's just zippo there that's tuna" in the samples sent over.

Carmel cites an earlier Inside Edition report that found positive tuna identification derived from samples from three Subway locations in Queens, New York City.

Registered dietitian Amber Pankonin, MS, LMNT, offered some more context for Healthline.

When asked whether the allegations that Subway might exist selling questionable meat products is a common manufacture practice in fast nutrient, Pankonin said "it really depends on the make, who their supplier is, and what they offer on the menu."

She said fast-food brands that have more than xx locations in the U.s. are required by the Nutrient and Drug Administration (FDA) to clearly mail service their nutritional information publicly.

"There are fast-food chains that might use a textured vegetable protein or a soy production as a filler in their beef burger or tacos," she explained. "If you are concerned about this, I would recommend looking for '100 percent beef' in the menu description and checking allergen data."

Pankonin directed Healthline to readily accessible information that you tin can easily reference if you're concerned about what foods you might be consuming from a fast-nutrient establishment.

This includes official menu labeling guidelines from the FDA and publicly available data on beef sourcing from pop brands like McDonald's, Wendy's, and Taco Bell.

Dana Hunnes, PhD, MPH, RD, a senior dietitian at the UCLA Medical Eye, echoed Pankonin that it really depends on the specific production.

She told Healthline that information technology is "difficult to 'fake' a product that looks like but what it is," such as a meat patty-based hamburger.

"However, if it is a fried nugget, i.e., chicken nugget, the question may become a flake murkier, equally at that place are often a number of boosted ingredients in the production, like breading, starch, dextrose, for instance, that could either mask an alternative meat product or actually make up more, past weight, of the product than the 'chicken' or so-called named meat itself," added Hunnes, who is also author of the forthcoming volume "Recipe for Survival."

What is the nutritional value of meat-based fast-food items?

Hunnes said she generally consults people to limit or avoid meat intake, adding that a plant-based diet is generally far better for one's overall health.

That being said, if you do eat meat-based products, she said "unadulterated meat" is amend due to the fact that you volition exist consuming "unprocessed meat product, which in some means will be a tad chip healthier than 'candy meat products.'"

She said many restaurants, even fast-nutrient establishments, are offer more plant-based alternatives. Her personal stance is to gravitate to these offerings more, and they're better for the surroundings at big.

Just by looking at menu labeling requirements, Pankonin said it's now pretty easy to access nutrition and allergen information for your go-to fast-food items. She said you should avert items that might contain potential allergens for you.

"Nutritionally, those products that contain fillers volition probably be adequately similar," she added, emphasizing, again, information technology really depends on the specific restaurant and their suppliers.

Then, how good for you is fast-nutrient meat? In that location's no one-size-fits-all answer.

"In terms of cooking preparation and taste acceptance, they [fast-food meat items] might perform differently. With added fillers, there might be more moisture or flour in the product that might bear upon cooking and quality. And depending on how much filler is used, this can touch the flavour of the product," Pankonin said.

She added that with fast-food restaurants, "standardized products can provide consistency in terms of estimating diet facts." This is compared with shopping for and preparing a burger from scratch at home; it all depends on the "meat that is used and the portion that is prepared."

"When I advise folks virtually what to order from fast-nutrient restaurants, it actually depends on what their wellness goals are and if there are any food allergies. I can help them evaluate the calorie and nutrition information to see if specific menu items fit in their overall nutrition program," Pankonin said.

If you're concerned almost the headlines most fast-food meat, what are skilful menu alternatives at your favorite fast-food identify?

​"Some of the found-based alternatives will be incrementally better than actual meat in terms of health. I say incrementally, because they are still a candy nutrient product and will comprise salt," Hunnes said.

"But, they are better for wellness in the sense that their fats are coming from plant-based sources, which are generally better than fats from creature sources, and they may also contain fiber, which meat volition not," she said.

Pankonin reiterated it'due south all about your dietary and health preferences.

"Again, I remember it depends on health goals and if there are whatsoever nutrient allergies. For example, if somebody is allergic to soy, they should be educated about meat fillers and also avoid some of the plant-based options on the menu likewise," she said.

Pankonin said if you're making a burger from the condolement of home and want to lower the fatty or the calorie content, for example, you can endeavour making "a burger blend" by "using ground beef and vegetables like onions and mushrooms."

She said some go-to breakfast suggestions include coming upwards with something yous can prep and freeze ahead of time.

Effort a breakfast sandwich that uses a whole-wheat English muffin, egg, and slice of cheese. This could exist a elementary culling to getting your favorite breakfast sandwich to go before heading into the office.

She also said no-bake recipes are a practiced way to reduce your kitchen time. Additionally, Pankonin cited wraps that can exist stored in a cooler and brought to the family picnic or the lunchroom as good options.

Beyond this, she said you can't get wrong with charcuterie boards.

"They are basically developed Lunchables, and I love them," she said. "These are super easy to assemble and can be a great alternative to fast food. Instead of a board, packet in a bento box and lunch is fix to become."

Hunnes said that while it might seem cheaper to go to a fast-food place and order four burgers, 4 chips, and four soft drinks for your family or group of friends for $twenty, in reality, you might be doing a lot of impairment to your overall health and "you lot may pay for it on the back end."

"However, since almost people do non think that far ahead when choosing meals, from a monetary, and momentary, standpoint only, yous absolutely can make something like, healthier, and potentially even cheaper at home," Hunnes said.

She said plant-based meat brands Impossible or Across Burger are just $ix to $11 per pound. A pound can feed four people. Wheat buns are but $3 for about 8, with lettuce, tomato, and onion setting yous dorsum well-nigh some other $iv, and soda calculation a scrap more, say another dollar or so.

The grand total? That'due south roughly $17 for your own bootleg burgers.

"It's really cheaper and far healthier to make at home," Hunnes added. "And, if you lot wanted to use bodily meat, it would probably be fifty-fifty cheaper since most footing meats are maybe $five per pound."

Overall, while we might not have solved the great tuna mystery of 2021, a few things are clear.

Ever wait into the dietary and nutritional background of the nutrient you swallow, assess whether it contains allergens, and consider potentially cheaper, and healthier, options you can brand for yourself and your family unit.