Dear McDonald’s Customers, U.S. Staff, Owner/Operators, and Suppliers,
Recently many of you have seen a chain email regarding McDonald’s beef purchasing practices. The email contains myths about McDonald's sourcing outside the country. I wanted to provide you with background on the emails as well as share the facts.
The first email on this topic surfaced in 2002 and it has resurfaced again in 2005, 2007, 2008, and again in 2009. Interestingly enough, this email seems to be recycled every two to three years and is remarkably similar to the original that circulated in 2002.
We know this email is a hoax. Our customers can trust us to provide them with food that is freshly prepared and made with real, high quality ingredients. We source from the most trusted industry-leading suppliers and serve 100% USDA-inspected beef.
Due to a well-documented shortage of lean beef in the U.S. and to meet the needs of our customers, we do purchase a relatively small percentage of high-quality imported lean beef from New Zealand and Australia. We do this to supplement to our domestic beef purchases.
McDonald's remains one of the largest purchasers of U.S. beef, and where possible, our preference is to always purchase locally and domestically.
The alleged “source” of the hoax email is Dr. David Forrest at Texas A&M. He recently provided us written verification that he is not associated in any way with the contents of the chain email. You can view his letter by using the link to the right.
As you can see, we are using mcdonalds.com to tell our McDonald’s story. To the right you’ll see an application which allows you to send a link to this page to your friends, family, and colleagues who have sent you the chain email hoax. We appreciate your support in helping us set the record straight.
Thank you.
Sincerely, Dan Gorsky Sr. Vice President North America Supply Chain
