By now... I'm sure an e-mail or a webpage with this picture has circulated on your desk:



The one I got had the following paragraph attached to it: "Say hello to mechanically separated chicken. It’s what all fast-food chicken is made from—things like chicken nuggets and patties. Also, the processed frozen chicken in the stores is made from it. Basically, the entire chicken is smashed and pressed through a sieve—bones, eyes, guts, and all. It comes out looking like this. There’s more: because it’s crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color. But, hey, at least it tastes good, right? High five, America!"

Whenever I get weird e-mails or webpages sent to me, I always find it best to check it out on Snopes, who always go out of their way to either debunk or say that internet rumors and urban legends are true. So... what does Snopes say about you eating that pink mess in your Chicken McNuggets?

As of 2003, McDonalds doesn't actually use this type of paste in their nuggets, so be relieved if you eat your nuggets there.

While it IS true that it's all chopped up and pushed through a sieve to remove the "hard pieces" of chicken remnants that were unable to be processed, they don't actually soak the paste in ammonia. While there have been instances of ammonia leakings, the ammonia is used in the refrigeration process and never inserted into the food for preservation purposes.

Even knowing that your chicken patty isn't soaked in ammonia, would you still wanna eat something so processed with aritificial coloring and flavoring?