Fresh beef for Quarter Pounder
McDonald’s Corp announced on Thursday that it would use fresh beef instead of frozen patties in Quarter Pounder burgers in most of its restaurants by mid-2018, the latest step in the company’s efforts to overhaul its menu and image.
The change, which is intended to improve taste but would not carry nutritional benefits, would mean burgers are prepared as customers order them and served off the grill.
Beef patties for the company’s signature Big Macs and other cheeseburgers would continue to be frozen, prepared ahead of time and kept warm.
Spokeswoman Becca Hary said McDonald’s would “continue to look at the rest of the menu based on what the customers are asking for.”
Since prices are set by individual franchise owners, the effect on pricing is unknown. About 90% of the chain’s 14,000 restaurants are independently owned and operated.
But Hary said prices did not rise when McDonald’s tested the concept at hundreds of locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“We do not anticipate there will be any significant impact on price when this sandwich rolls out nationally,” she said.
Hary said service did not significantly slow down during the trial run, though some franchise owners have concerns.
Freezing patties is a good way to kill pathogens like E. coli, and using fresh beef raises new possibilities for contamination.
But several of the company’s competitors, including fast-casual burger chains like Shake Shack, In-N-Out and Five Guys, do not freeze their patties.
Since a new chief executive, Steve Easterbrook, took over in 2015, McDonald’s has sought a new identity.
Its 2015 addition of all-day breakfast proved popular, and efforts by McDonald’s to introduce healthier options, which date back more than a decade, have picked up steam in recent years.
In 2016, the company said it was removing artificial preservatives from some breakfast foods and Chicken McNuggets, and eliminating high-fructose corn syrup from buns.
McDonald’s has also modified its restaurant experience. Last year, it added screen ordering and table service.
“Today’s announcement is part of a continuing food journey for McDonald’s,” Chris Kempczinski, the company’s president in the United States, said in a statement.