13 Menu Items McDonald's Employees Refuse To Order

The people who work for the McDonald's chain are responsible for the fundamental function of the restaurant — to deliver burgers, fries, and sodas to the hungry masses at rapid speed. And as you might expect, a lot of people work for the company. There were approximately 150,000 employees directly employed by McDonald's in 2022, per Statista, a significant reduction from 10 years prior when it had almost half a million staff members on its books. However, the true number of workers associated with McDonald's is much higher, with over two million people working in its franchised restaurants worldwide, according to McDonald's.

McDonald's offers all of the benefits you would hope a company of its size can provide its restaurant workers, with talent development, career progression, healthcare and retirement benefits, and a prescription drug discount, amongst other perks. And, of course, it has to keep those employees fed. McDonald's restaurant employees are usually entitled to a free meal while working and an in-store discount should they want to buy more food. But as the people who see exactly how your food is made, McDonald's workers aren't always as excited by some of the menu items as you might be — and there are some that they skip entirely.

McDonald's isn't as well-regarded for its hot drinks as Dunkin' or Starbucks might be, but it still has a huge range of McCafé coffees available at its stores. But McDonald's employees advise getting your caffeine fix elsewhere due to the lack of cleanliness of its coffee machines. "I work for McDonald's and make sure everyone that matters to me never orders anything that comes out of the "McCafé" machine as these are routinely neglected, in practically all the McDonald's," revealed a worker via Reddit. According to the employee, the lack of knowledge that anyone seems to have about how to properly clean these machines leads to them becoming incredibly dirty.

The worker goes into detail about pulling out "a literal fist-full of black soot" more than once from the machine to indicate to their managers that the machine needs cleaning. The issue, however, seems to be that in order to clean it properly, you have to take it apart and service it. No one in-store ever seems to have the right equipment, however, meaning that every time you get a coffee, the new liquid spurts out past the build-up grime. And that grime can contain bacteria. A study published in Scientific Reports found that coffee machines are a haven for bacterial colonies, especially when not cleaned, like in McDonald's' case. ‌

For many people, a slice of tomato is non-negotiable in a burger. And while burgers on the American McDonald's menus opt for tomato ketchup instead of fresh tomatoes, limited-edition items like the Quarter Pounder with Cheese Deluxe feature them, and McDonald's' around the world do as well. 

But in our opinion, and the opinion of the employees, you should stick to the tomato-less ones. "The tomato slice in your burger has often come from a tomato that was past its throw out date," says a former McDonald's worker, per Reddit. Apparently, it was pretty standard procedure in the restaurant that the ex-employee worked in to even use moldy tomatoes by slicing off any mold and serving the still-fresh parts.

It's worth pointing out that eating moldy produce isn't always bad for you and will often only cause health problems if you're allergic or sensitive to mold, according to Huffington Post. With soft vegetables like tomatoes, though, they should always be discarded when past their prime, as they can become contaminated below their surface. More to the point, you should expect to be served fresh food in restaurants, and not old, potentially hazardous produce, making this worker's tale all the more concerning.

The Filet-O-Fish is one of the only concessions McDonald's offers to people who prefer fish, and it's by far the most famous seafood item on the menu. But because it's not ordered nearly as much as the other burgers on the menu, it tends to be one that employees advise skipping. Several workers for the chain state that the Filet-O-Fish sandwiches can sit in the restaurant's cabinets for hours before they're served. "It's been 3 years since I worked there but I can promise you that filet of fish is not fresh by any stretch of the imagination," one said via Reddit.

During this time, the breaded fish and the bun are left to build up steam and become soggy and overly soft, a far cry from the crispy, flaky fish fillet you're promised in the advertisements. It is useful to point out that this may only be the case in certain restaurants: Another employee stated that due to fish being strangely popular in the restaurant they worked in, they could usually count on Filet-O-Fish sandwiches being sold in ten minutes. If you want to make sure your sandwich is freshly cooked, one worker recommends simply asking your server to make it then and there. You might have to wait a few minutes, but it'll probably be worth it. ‌

It's no exaggeration to say that people love the McRib. Arguably the best example of McDonald's' ability to cause a stir with time-limited seasonal menu items, the sandwich has gained a cult following, with fan pages set up to honor its combination of pork and sticky BBQ sauce. But if you work at McDonald's, you'll likely have a different view of the sandwich, with several employees ranking it as the one item they would never recommend ordering. "I worked at McDonald's for a while and I would have to say the McRib" "is absolutely revolting. It doesn't look like meat at all, it looks like a scab," stated an erstwhile worker on Reddit.

Another employee concurred, citing the poor service standards of the sandwich. "I also remember the McRib sitting for hours in that disgusting sauce," they said. Interestingly, several of the commenters in the Reddit thread point out that while the McRib seems popular, it generally didn't sell very much or seem very tasty. Maybe it's best not to believe the hype sometimes.

Getting a drink with your meal is all part of the experience at McDonald's. But employees are pretty discerning about which drinks they go for, and they skip sweet tea pretty routinely due to its sugar content. "Pound. Of. Sugar. Per gallon," an employee stated about the quantity of sugar in its sweet tea over on Reddit, with another going into more detail about how it's made. "The restaurant I worked at put roughly 3 pounds of sugar in every [container]," they said. "We filled a tea pitcher" "with sugar and dumped it in. We still had people put simple syrup in the tea to make it sweeter."

The employees' claims are verified by the nutritional information for sweet tea on the McDonald's website. A large serving size of the drink contains 40 grams of added sugars, approximately 81% of the maximum amount you should be having each day in one drink. Even an extra-small serving size has 17 grams in it. Amazingly, that's still far less than the amount of added sugars in a Coke, with the restaurant's large size containing a staggering 77 grams, over 150% of the maximum daily value. ‌

The milkshakes at McDonald's are pretty popular and are the sweet spot between a drink and a dessert. But once you know how they're made, you'll understand why employees avoid ordering them. "The milkshake machine on the other hand is not cleaned every day. It is cleaned bi-weekly and every night it just heats up the milk contents so that it kills off the bacteria in the milk.," said a McDonald's worker on Reddit.

This lack of cleaning means that none of the residue from the milkshakes is removed. This results in a flaky, impacted build-up, which the worker says reminds them "of icing sugar on the wall." Although this cleaning frequency may be legal and accepted in McDonald's stores, that doesn't mean that it isn't gross. A further commenter pointed out the seemingly lax protocol in their restaurant around cleaning the drinks machines and urged folks to remember that just because their food is being served in a large restaurant doesn't mean it's 100% safe for consumption and made using the right processes.

To many people, McDonald's chicken nuggets are a cut above the rest and warrant their own trip to the store. But workers tend to skip them entirely. It isn't, however, due to their ingredients and the infamous "pink slime" picture that has been circulated widely on the internet and which McDonald's itself dispels on its website. It's actually because of how long they can sit around in the store.

"I used to work at McDonalds. If you order, especially chicken nuggets, just ask for them fresh. Otherwise, they've been just sitting in their container in the heat," says a former employee on Reddit. The worker points out that each McDonald's has a timer that it's meant to follow, throwing out the chicken nuggets when it goes off and they're past their prime. The majority of the time, though, the timer is just reset, with the chicken nuggets rolled over to the next time period, the ex-employee alleges. Another worker states, "The timer is only there for corporate inspection days," further calling into question how long your nuggets sit there.

Food is able to sit between 90 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit for roughly an hour before bacteria can start to multiply and potentially cause foodborne illness, according to the USDA. While we'd hope that the chicken nuggets aren't sitting there for that long, based on this information, it's probably wise to order them fresh.

We generally don't think ice poses a health risk beyond getting stuck to our tongues or fingertips. But in McDonald's, it may be a different story. Ordering your drinks with ice may be bad, says one worker on Reddit, "Usually because no restaurant ever has cleaned out the ice machine." Not only this, but they also point out the risks involved with multiple people grabbing the same scoop and shoveling ice into drinks, potentially with unsanitary hands. This creates a recipe for disaster.

Importantly, low temperatures don't kill bacteria, although it's easy to assume they do. Bacteria remain alive when frozen, but their ability to multiply is often paused. When they come back up to room temperature, they gain all of their regular power to spread foodborne disease. In one study published in the Journal of Water and Health, it was found that many ice machines in food establishments were harboring E. coli and Psychrophilic bacteria, the latter of which can grow at cold temperatures.

Your McDonald's meal may not be complete without a McFlurry to finish things off. But once you know what the McDonald's employees do, you'll never order one again. One former McDonald's employee caused a stir on the internet way back in 2017 when he posted a picture of the ice cream drip tray from his store on X, formerly known as Twitter. The drip tray was, frankly, a shocking sight, covered in thick, dark, black gunk, which sits in close proximity to your ice cream.

The poster, who went into further detail about how lacking the store's cleanliness standards were, was subsequently fired from his position. But other McDonald's workers have been vocal about the lack of cleanliness of their own McFlurry machines, stating that they're constantly dirty. This is partly why they seem to go out of order all the time, but it also makes you question whether the ice cream you're eating is really safe for consumption.

Many of the burgers at McDonald's are made with the restaurant's smallest patty size, including the Big Mac, McDouble, cheeseburger, and the classic McDonald's hamburger. But with all of those burgers, things may not be as cooked as you'd like. "Those things come off of the grill still red with blood and then we would shove them in the trays where they would stay for hours," warns an old employee of the restaurant via Reddit.

Although some of the subsequent commenters refute the original person's claims, other people elsewhere back it up. "There is a very good chance your beef hasn't been cooked 100%," says another employee pointing to the restaurant's terrible quality of the grills on Quora. "If you're not comfortable with eating medium-rare meat, go for the chicken." While many restaurants across the country serve their meat medium-rare or rare, it's useful to remember that, according to the USDA, unless the internal temperature of the meat has reached at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit, there's no way to tell whether it's totally safe or not. And we're willing to bet that McDonald's employees are not conducting those kinds of checks on its burgers before slinging them out.

Eggs are a constant fixture on the McDonald's menu and are found in its McMuffins, breakfast biscuits, and in the Hawaii-only Spam Eggs and Rice. But if you're ordering anything with a fresh egg, be warned. McDonald's uses real eggs for its McMuffins, cracked into an egg ring and cooked on the griddle, and the safety of these eggs is up for debate. "I wouldn't trust the eggs." "We used to leave those babies out in the hot kitchen for hours," says a McDonald's worker via Reddit.

In the United States, it's generally advised that eggs still in their shells should sit out for no longer than two hours at room temperature, according to Healthline. Any longer than that, they might become unsafe to use. Eggs are particularly prone to causing Salmonella poisoning, which may result in diarrhea and vomiting, as stated by Mayo Clinic. In addition, moving eggs between the refrigerator and a hot kitchen and then leaving them out for hours may cause them to develop condensation, which could be a potential breeding ground for bacteria. These eggs may also be handled by multiple people in the same shift, increasing the risk of cross-contamination, which could make its way onto your food.

McDonald's Frappés are a perfect middle ground for people who want a taste of coffee. But how they're made might put you off for life. These creamy, smooth drinks are made using a machine that isn't treated in the most sanitary of conditions. "I don't do this but I see it a lot, when we use the machine for our slushies and smoothies and frappes, etc. some people won't even clean the blender fully before putting in a new drink," says a former crew member at McDonald's via Quora.

Not only does this mean that the residue from old drinks is allowed to build up over time, creating a food hazard, but it also means that the flavor of your frappé might be altered by whatever was in there beforehand. As well as this, it's also considering that a frappé isn't exactly the most nutritious drink in the world. Another former employee stated on Quora that the drink is basically a combination of "Coffee, cream, sugar, flavored sauce and ice. It is basically all premade, the machine they use to make the frappe only blends the drink with ice."

McDonald's offers its sauces both via dispensers and from sachets, with its ketchup frequently available in its dining areas from a large pump. However, employees tend to discourage using the ketchup dispenser and instead go for the sachets. "Don't use the ketchup dispensers! Who knows when the bags were last changed (if it's one of those fancier, below-the-counter ones)," said an ex-crew member via Quora. The former worker revealed that the issue is not so much that the machine isn't cleaned properly, but the old ketchup is put back inside once it is. The old ketchup is then used until it's fully gone before the new ketchup is put in.

Once ketchup is opened, it will generally last for around a month before it starts to go bad. And the fact is that there's no way of telling whether the ketchup in the pump has been in there for that long. This is especially risky in lower-traffic stores, where the ketchup pump may not be used as often. As well as this, there's also the fact that you have no idea how many other people have used the pump since the handle was last cleaned and whether they washed their hands before doing so.