McDonald's Is Making Big Change to One of Its Burgers

For the first time in more than 40 years, McDonald's will be using non-frozen beef in most of its US locations, the AP reports. After a year-long test in Dallas and Tulsa—which resulted in increased sales—McDonald's will be rolling out Quarter Pounders made with fresh, never-frozen beef nationwide by the middle of 2018. The restaurant chain is calling it the "most drastic menu change in decades," according to the Washington Post. McDonald's hopes the switch will help it appeal to customers who are more and more frequently turning away from processed foods. A McDonald's executive says the fresh beef makes for a "really hot, juicy burger." But it's not without risks. Fresh patties are more likely to carry E. coli, and employees will have to be retrained to cook the fresh patties to order rather than ahead of time—as they do with frozen patties. McDonald's will still use frozen beef patties for its other burgers. (More McDonald's stories.)