McDonald's Worker Reveals Key Difference in the Quarter Pounder Patty

A man claiming to be a McDonald's worker has revealed the one crucial difference between hamburger and quarter pounder patties, in a now viral video.

TikToker @essentialmcdonalds, who regularly shares behind-the-scenes footage coverage all aspects of the fast food giant, recently filmed the boxes both patties come in.

The caption says: "For those that think the quarter pounder are frozen." It's had more than a million views since being posted earlier this month.

He films the first box, which says "10:1 pure beef hamburgers," zooming in on the stamp which says "keep frozen."

While he next films "4:1 pure beef hamburger patties," used for the quarter pounders, which for contrast says "keep refrigerated." And he zoomed in on the expiration date, revealing their short shelf-life.

In the comment section, the U.S.-based poster revealed what the numbers mean, saying: "So 10:1 is one tenth patties so 10 patties to a pound. 4:1 is quarter pound patties so 4 to a pound."

While he added: "I've personally thrown away 13 boxes of these at once. They are NEVER frozen."

Their assertion was backed up by some in the comments, with Ginna Dgo writing: "Let me tell you I'm a manager at McDonald's and the quarter pounder beef is not frozen."

Kendra Sauve wrote: "Quarter pounder meat is refrigerated and regular meat is frozen... I'm a manager at a McDonald's."

Caleb J added: "It's the 10:1's that are frozen. The 4:1's are freshly made every time."

While BluGriff added: "Their walk-in cooler is connected to the freezer so it looks like it's in the freezer. I inspected 6 McDs and none were frozen!"

Some people expressed their surprise at the storage, as Roxi Anne Wilson claimed: "10 years ago it was all frozen. It's nice to see real fresh ingredients being used again."

Caleb Wilkie thought: "I'll never understand the anti-frozen food movement in the first place. It's an incredible food preservation technology and frozen food is often fresher than the "fresh" alternatives."

POOPIEDO41 pointed out: "They don't understand that thing have changed ALOT since the 80s."

While Rebel Beauty Courtney commented: "Yeah you can also taste the difference from fridge vs frozen."

The fast food chain is among the most popular in the world, with 39,198 global restaurants as of 2020, Statista reported.

McDonald's website claims its meat is "100 per cent real beef with no fillers, additives or preservatives."

It wrote: "We use the trimmings of cuts like the chuck, round and sirloin for our burgers, which are ground and formed into our hamburger patties."

In the FAQs, the company explained cooking time varies on the burger, and how busy they are.

It added: "As an example, if there are no other orders, the average time from when an order is placed to cook and prepare a Hamburger is a total of 112 seconds (the beef patty is cooked on the grill in 42 seconds) and a total of 180 seconds for a Quarter Pounder with Cheese (the beef patty is cooked on the grill in 112 seconds.)"

And seemingly explaining the difference between the patties, the website added: "Our 100 percent beef is ground, formed into patties, and then flash frozen. Flash freezing is when beef is quickly frozen to seal in fresh flavor.

"From the day it was formed, it usually takes about two to three weeks until the burger is served. We add salt and pepper to our burgers when they are cooked on the grill at our restaurants to bring out all that great beef taste."

However they had separate notes regarding the quarter pounders, saying: "We will serve 100 percent fresh beef Quarter Pounder burgers cooked right when you order.

"Quarter Pounder with Cheese features a quarter pound of 100 percent fresh beef that's hot, deliciously juicy and cooked when you order."

They clarified the quarter pound equates to "weight before cooking 4 oz. (ea.)," adding it's available at "most" restaurants in the U.S., except Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. Territories.

Newsweek reached out to @essentialmcdonalds and McDonald's for comment.