Know your beef

“Our lush green pastures and temperate climate means we produce some of the world’s best meat, so it’s little surprise that McDonald’s serves 6500 tonnes of homegrown beef to Kiwi customers each year.”

Next time you bite into a mouthwatering McDonald’s cheeseburger, you’ll be enjoying one of nearly half a million pure New Zealand beef patties produced daily by Anzco Foods staff in Waitara, north of New Plymouth. Ninety per cent of the staff live in the small town, population 7000.

And nearly 90% of the food we serve daily is manufactured in New Zealand from local and imported ingredients. Our lush green pastures and temperate climate means this country produces some of the world’s best meat, so it’s little surprise that McDonald’s serves 6500 tonnes of homegrown beef to Kiwi customers each year.

From the free-range eggs, sourced from Otaika Valley Farms in Whangārei and Zealgold in Otago, hoki caught in the Tasman Sea by Talley’s of Motueka, to the granny smith apples picked in sunny Hawke’s Bay for our famous apple pie, McDonald’s purchases quality local produce whenever it can for its 167 New Zealand restaurants.

LOCAL LEGENDS

The star of the show is arguably the superior New Zealand beef patty, found wedged between two fluffy buns made by Arytza Bakery in Auckland’s Wairau Valley.

New Zealand is one of McDonald’s top-10 beefproducing markets, and exports about 23,400 tonnes of produce to our restaurants around the world each year.

The quality beef cuts are sourced from a strong network of Kiwi beef farmers, including Whangara Farms in Gisborne, managed by Richard Scholefield. Whangara was the first beef farm outside Europe to be invited into the McDonald’s Flagship Farmers programme, a global partnership that recognises ongoing commitment to measure and benchmark sustainability efforts.

Sustainability tends to be a common theme among the company’s New Zealand suppliers, including Anzco.

Through its commitment to the Climate Leaders Coalition, membership of the Sustainable Business Council, and by working continuously to improve environmental practices, Anzco ensures you can feel good about where the beef in your Big Mac comes from.

PRIME TIME

There’s no beef with what’s in the beef, either. The beef cuts are minced – that’s it. No additives or fillers, just mince, shaped in two sizes: the 4:1 – the delicious Quarter Pounder patty, and the standard 10:1. The patties are flash frozen, sent to the restaurant and then cooked up with just a sprinkle of salt and pepper for the customer. Fun fact: a regular patty takes 41 seconds to cook through, but the Quarter Pounder patty takes 114 seconds.

The whole process, from farm to grill, involves many people throughout the country. Utilising Kiwi workers and local suppliers is just one example of how the McDonald’s supply chain supports New Zealand.

For more information on McDonald’s locally sourced produce, visit mcdonalds.co.nz/ whats-in-it

The beef cuts are minced – that’s it. No additives or fillers, just mince, shaped in two sizes.