Does McDonald's Use Fake Cheese?

There's a pretty good chance you've eaten cheese at McDonald's at some point in your life. Data from Numerator via Restaurant Business showed that nearly nine out of 10 households in the United States reported visiting the chain over a 12-month period from 2022 to 2023. So whether it's a Quarter Pounder, a Big Mac, or a simple cheeseburger, odds are you or someone you know has had cheese at the fast food giant recently. But was it actually cheese? McDonald's ingredients list it as "pasteurized process American cheese," which is sort of cheese but also not.

To allay any fears you might have, pasteurized process American cheese is perfectly safe to eat and is in fact made from actual cheese. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) requires that it be labeled as pasteurized processed cheese because it's not pure cheese. It is a product made from cheese. Think of it like an all-beef hot dog. You wouldn't call that just beef. It's something made from beef.

To meet the FDA definition of processed American cheese, it must be a product that mixes two kinds of real cheese, often cheddar and Colby Jack, with added ingredients such as milk protein, emulsifiers, coloring, salt, whey, and so on. A food product must be at least 51% cheese to qualify as real processed American cheese, and has to have the same fat content as natural cheese. Anything under 51% is labeled as a "process cheese food." You can see these labels on cheese slices in the grocery store if you read them carefully.

McDonald's, by using processed American cheese, is still using a real cheese product but not real cheese, if that makes sense. Processed American cheese has that soft, melty texture many people want and expect and a consistent flavor but, legally, it's not really cheese.

Part of the reason many fast food restaurants don't use real cheese is that it often doesn't melt as well. If you've ever put a slice of real cheddar on a burger and compared it to a slice of processed American cheese, you notice the processed cheese melts faster and more evenly without oily separation. It's also cheaper than real cheese.

You can find real cheese on the menu at some fast food restaurants, but it can be a little confusing. For instance, you can find real Asiago cheese on some Wendy's chicken sandwiches, but the cheese on their burgers, like the Baconator, is American. Many of Burger King's breakfast items use processed American cheese, but its mozzarella fries are made with real mozzarella cheese. If you're concerned about the type of cheese you may be consuming, you'll want to check the nutritional info ahead of time.

There is good news if you're a fan of real cheese versus American cheese. Some restaurants have been pushing towards using more real cheese options. In 2018, Panera Bread dropped its old grilled cheese sandwiches, which used American cheese, in favor of a new four-cheese blend made with cheddar, smoked gouda, fontina, and Monteau. A&W in Canada did the same thing, switching to real cheddar instead of processed cheese.

Even though many chains still use processed American cheese, it's not the artificial thing that some online rumors make it out to be. The cheese isn't made of plastic and it's not horribly unhealthy. It's just a cheese product designed to be stable and reliable, offering consistent taste and texture and lasting longer than real cheese. If you like it, as with all things, enjoy it in moderation.