Fast-Food Secrets Revealed

Many fast-food chains use a food additive called propylene glycol, which is also used in antifreeze. It adds moisture to food, keeping it frozen, in addition to enhancing flavor. For example, it's used to keep the lettuce on your sandwiches crispy and ice cream from melting.

While you should always visit the bathroom before a meal to wash your hands, bathrooms also reveal a lot about a restaurant’s standards and the quality of their food. If a restroom isn’t stocked with liquid soap, paper towels or a hand dryer, you can infer that the kitchen operations and sanitary practices of the employees are similarly deficient. Additionally, kitchen staff often utilizes the same bathroom. If they are unable to properly wash their hands after using the toilet, it’s time to choose another eating establishment!

Don’t let chemical contamination ruin your breakfast. Most restaurants clean with super-concentrated chemicals that linger overnight. If you are one of the first customers in the morning, your coffee and breakfast sandwich could be contaminated. The later you order, the better!

If you think you’re making a healthy choice ordering chicken breast, think again. Most fast-food restaurants douse their chicken in butter and margarine to keep it from sticking to the grill. While it adds flavor, it also adds extra calories. Just two pats of butter adds 70 calories and 8 grams of extra fat! You can avoid these unwanted extras by asking if the restaurant adds extra butter, spray or margarine. If you don’t get a definitive answer, assume they do and skip it.

Fast food takes much longer to spoil than homemade or restaurant food because of all the added preservatives. In fact, it can sit around for hours in a holding cabinet before being reheated. If you aren’t ordering during a busy time, odds are, that’s the food you’ll get.

When it comes to grill marks, it all depends on labeling: If your burger is “char-grilled” or “fire-grilled,” it was the result of applied heat. However, without those labels, the grill marks were sprayed on at a factory.

Influenza and other viruses can survive for two or more hours on hard surfaces such as door handles, steering wheels, radio buttons, cell phones, dashboards and the money you use to pay for your drive-thru meal. Even if you do your part to prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria by washing your hands frequently, you should still sanitize your hands before you grab those freshly cooked French fries.

If you're a vegetarian, this secret may be particularly concerning: Many fast-food restaurants include beef additives in their milkshakes and french fries under the guise of unexplained "natural flavorings," "extract" or "essence." There has been a movement to remove some of these beef flavorings, but many chains still use them.

The machines that dispense soda and ice are moist, rarely cleaned and full of sticky, sugary syrup, making them the ideal homes for harmful mold and bacteria. Before you fill your cup, look for built up syrup on the nozzles and mold in the ice chute. If it looks dirty, skip the fountain soda in favor of a bottled drink.