McDonald's USA Celebrates "April Facts" with real facts about its iconic menu

CHICAGO, April 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- It's a whole new day at McDonald's: April Facts (because April Fools was so last year). And we're serving up something different for fans… no pranks, just 100% real facts about what's in our food and how we bring it from farm to restaurant to serve 26 million Americans every. single. day. 

"On a day when everyone is focused on pranks, we thought we'd serve up some facts, starting with what's really on the menu at every McDonald's across the country," said Michael Gonda, SVP, Chief Impact Officer of North America for McDonald's. "And the facts are clear - we've been obsessed with using real, quality ingredients since the day we opened our very first restaurant." 

Unwrapping what's really in your Mickey D's bag 

Over the years, we've evolved our menu to keep pace with the latest food science and customer preferences. We're also leading with transparency, providing clear nutritional information to help our customers make informed choices about the menu items they know and love. 

The result? Delicious food you can feel good about enjoying:  

• Hot, juicy, classic burgers that are free of artificial preservatives, colors and flavors (except the pickle, which you can skip if you'd like). Our classic Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Double Cheeseburger, McDouble®, Quarter Pounder® with Cheese, Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese and Big Mac® are all made with 100% pure beef patties (all we add is a pinch of salt and pepper).  
• Crispy Chicken McNuggets made with 100% white meat chicken and no artificial preservatives, colors or flavors. 
• A freshly cracked, 100% cage-free egg on every Egg McMuffin® breakfast sandwich, served with real butter. 
• Wild-caught Alaskan Pollock in the Filet-O-Fish® sandwich, sourced from sustainably managed fisheries. 
• Fresh produce from American farmers – from the whole Russet Burbank and Umatilla potatoes that go into our fries, to the crisp Gala and Empire apple slices in our Happy Meals.    
• Cool, creamy vanilla soft serve with – you guessed it – no artificial preservatives, colors or flavors. 

"Our customers count on us for real food with real ingredients," said Cesar Piña, Chief Supply Chain Officer, North America for McDonald's. "It's newsy right now to make big splashy changes, but we've long known that when it comes to our food, it's about keeping it as simple and safe as possible. Our secret sauce is great taste, great quality, great value – and we deliver that every day with the help of amazing suppliers and farmers across the country." 

From the Farm to the Drive-Thru
Ever wondered how a potato makes its way from a farm in Idaho into your fry box, perfectly golden and crispy? Think about that journey for every one of our ingredients…multiply it by the millions of Americans we serve every day…and you'll start to understand the daily miracle that is McDonald's supply chain. 

We can only make it happen by working with the best of the best.  

McDonald's has strong, trusted relationships with our suppliers – local farmers, ranchers, bakers, sauce-makers and more – many of which go back decades. Partners like: 

• Golden State Foods and OSI Group, two of our beef suppliers in the U.S. that have been with McDonald's since the opening of our very first restaurants.  
• Forsman Farms, a multi-generational family farm, and Cargill, who helped us reach our U.S. cage-free eggs goal two years ahead of schedule – building farm-level infrastructure that transformed the industry in the process. 
• Bama Companies, a third-generation, woman-owned company that has been supplying McDonald's pies since 1968, when the original apple pie was introduced. 

To us, these are the real MVPs. And we think they deserve their moment in the spotlight. Check out our newsroom for more information on how we're driving the industry forward, together. 

Happy April Facts to all who celebrate.  

About McDonald's 
McDonald's is the world's leading global foodservice retailer with over 40,000 locations in over 100 countries. Approximately 95% of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business owners. All marks and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Media contact:
McDonald's USA
[email protected] 

SOURCE McDonald's USA, LLC