Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Mcdonald's?

watkinson

By watkinson
in Gluten-Free Restaurants

Recommended Posts

watkinson Apprentice
watkinson
Posted

I'm sure those of you who have been on this board forever, are sick of this question, but I just don't get it and need some answers.

McDonald's was under fire a couple years ago when it was discovered that their fries which had been labeled as Gluten Free and Vegetarian, were found to contain both wheat and beef derivitives. I thought it was all worked out and that they changed the oil which was the culprit. Meanwhile...I've been getting their fries every now and then. Now however, I went to the Mcdonalds.com site and it states that they will not longer have a gluten free list, that they want us to check their ingredient list as it may change. The ingredients for their fries states that the oil contains wheat. Does anyone know the definitive answer....are they Gluten free or not?

Thanks, Wendy :)

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


MaryJones2 Enthusiast
MaryJones2
Posted

There is a small amount of wheat and beef added to the fries during processing. However, the fries have been evaluated by the CSA and found to have no detectable levels of gluten in them:

Open Original Shared Link

Some of us eat them and others don't so it's really all about your comfort level. Cross contamination is probably the biggest concern at a fast food joint.

Felidae Enthusiast
Felidae
Posted

In Canada there is no beef or wheat added. Here is the link:

Open Original Shared Link

Lisa Mentor
Lisa
Posted
There is a small amount of wheat and beef added to the fries during processing. However, the fries have been evaluated by the CSA and found to have no detectable levels of gluten in them:

Open Original Shared Link

Some of us eat them and others don't so it's really all about your comfort level. Cross contamination is probably the biggest concern at a fast food joint.

Ditto on this answer! ;)

MNBeth Explorer
MNBeth
Posted
There is a small amount of wheat and beef added to the fries during processing.

I really don't think it's accurate to say that there is "wheat" added to the fries. If a product contains grain alcohol, we don't say that it "has grain added to it." What McDonald's uses are flavorings that are *derived from* wheat, and, I believe, milk. A small quantity of the flavoring is added to the oil in which the fries are cooked.

About the rest, I totally agree. As I understand it, gluten is barely detectable in the flavoring itself. By the time it's been diluted by the vast quantity of oil and the fries get cooked, the gluten is no longer detectable at all. I'm definitely one of those that is more concerned about CC than the flavorings in the oil, but I have no criticism for anyone that feels the fries are not to be trusted.

munkee41182 Explorer
munkee41182
Posted

My husband looked up the ingredients and saw that there was the word 'wheat' in the ingredients. He wouldn't let me eat them. I was PO'd.

Are any other fast food chain french fries ok? BK...wendy's???

hermitgirl Contributor
hermitgirl
Posted

The only fries I am comfortable eating are Chick Fil A's as they clearly state the gluten free status on their website, and I have yet to find a location that does not have a dedicated fryer for the fries.

I have gotten sick from other fast food potato products so just stick with what is in writing from the compaines. It is all personal levels of comfort and sensitivity.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


larry mac Enthusiast
larry mac
Posted
I really don't think it's accurate to say that there is "wheat" added to the fries. If a product contains grain alcohol, we don't say that it "has grain added to it." What McDonald's uses are flavorings that are *derived from* wheat, and, I believe, milk. A small quantity of the flavoring is added to the oil in which the fries are cooked.

About the rest, I totally agree. As I understand it, gluten is barely detectable in the flavoring itself. By the time it's been diluted by the vast quantity of oil and the fries get cooked, the gluten is no longer detectable at all. I'm definitely one of those that is more concerned about CC than the flavorings in the oil, but I have no criticism for anyone that feels the fries are not to be trusted.

Great point Beth, and well put.

best regards, lm

MaryJones2 Enthusiast
MaryJones2
Posted

My apologies. It was a poorly worded response. Here are the ingredients from the March 12, 2009 US Ingredient statement:

French Fries:

Potatoes, vegetable oil (canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor [wheat and milk derivatives]*), citric acid (preservative), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain color), salt. Prepared in vegetable oil ((may contain one of the following: Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness), dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent). *

CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK (Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients).

happygirl Collaborator
happygirl
Posted
I'm sure those of you who have been on this board forever, are sick of this question, but I just don't get it and need some answers.

I don't think anyone is sick of the question - that would be like people being sick of listing the tests for Celiac, or helping with safe restaurants, etc. :)

Some have frustration with people posting misinformation, esp on this topic, often to newly diagnosed Celiacs.

Juliebove Rising Star
Juliebove
Posted

You couldn't pay me to eat at McDonalds. First they said the fries were vegetarian when in fact there is or was beef in there. Then they didn't disclose not only the wheat but the milk. What else will they not tell us?

Tica Apprentice
Tica
Posted
There is a small amount of wheat and beef added to the fries during processing. However, the fries have been evaluated by the CSA and found to have no detectable levels of gluten in them:

Open Original Shared Link

Some of us eat them and others don't so it's really all about your comfort level. Cross contamination is probably the biggest concern at a fast food joint.

From what I understand, the McDonald's and Wedny's fries are fried in the same oil as the breaded chicken and nuggets. Only BK uses a separate fryer for their breaded items. Chik-fil-a is the only place that will actually list their fries as gluten-free.

Darn210 Enthusiast
Darn210
Posted
From what I understand, the McDonald's and Wedny's fries are fried in the same oil as the breaded chicken and nuggets. Only BK uses a separate fryer for their breaded items. Chik-fil-a is the only place that will actually list their fries as gluten-free.

Not true . . . McDonalds has dedicated fryers. Most Wendy's do to. It never hurts to verify though when going to a new location.

cruelshoes Enthusiast
cruelshoes
Posted
From what I understand, the McDonald's and Wedny's fries are fried in the same oil as the breaded chicken and nuggets. Only BK uses a separate fryer for their breaded items. Chik-fil-a is the only place that will actually list their fries as gluten-free.

Actually, the oposite is true. The vast majority of McDonald's locations (some exceptions are the tiny ones in museums and gas stations - ask at those locations) use dedicated fryers for their fries. Every Wendy's is different, so one would need to inquire at each one. There are 2 Wendy's near me - one has a dedicated fryer and one does not.

Burger king does not have dedicated fryers. Demonstrated by the loose onion ring that so often ends up in the french fries.

Themystro1 Newbie
Themystro1
Posted

Just came across this thread. Thought it was quite appropriate being that I just got an attack eating fries at McDonalds. I emailed them wondering what the heck happened-

Here is there response:

//

Thanks for your interest in McDonald's menu.

McDonald's no longer maintains a list of products that are considered gluten free. We do, however, provide extensive nutrition and ingredient information for our nationally offered menu product on our website. We update the information on our website (Open Original Shared Link) frequently as we receive new information from our product suppliers. We encourage you to read our ingredient statements and make personal decisions that meet your specific dietary needs.

Again, thank you for contacting McDonald's and we hope to have the opportunity to serve you again soon.

Kayla

McDonald's Customer Response Center

ref#:5876761

//

Brilliant huh??? McDonalds and Taco Bell, Jack-in-the-Box are all on my do-not-eat list. Still sticking with In-and-Out and El Pollo, Boston Market, Koo-Koo-Roo as my quick-eateries.....

I am really afraid to go to Carls, Wendy's and BK... any success with them?

Thanks!

Tim-n-VA Contributor
Tim-n-VA
Posted
I am really afraid to go to Carls, Wendy's and BK... any success with them?

At Wendy's all I have is the baked potato and chili. I've never had a problem. When I couldn't find anything else, I had a grilled chicken salad at Burger King with no problem.

lizard00 Enthusiast
lizard00
Posted

I eat Wendy's chili when I have to do fast food on the road. I've not had a problem with it. As another poster pointed out, some have dedicated fryers and some don't, so if I'm in a fry mood I always ask. The last Wendy's I went to had dedicated fryers and it was fine. In the beginning of my celiac journey I wasn't so lucky <_<

  • 2 weeks later...
laurac Newbie
laurac
Posted
From what I understand, the McDonald's and Wedny's fries are fried in the same oil as the breaded chicken and nuggets. Only BK uses a separate fryer for their breaded items. Chik-fil-a is the only place that will actually list their fries as gluten-free.

I am in Bridgewater, Mass and know the opposite to be true here. McDonald's has a dedicated fryer and BK does not. Wendy's fries are gluten-free but the local restaurants here do not use a dedicated fryer. I think the bottom line is that there is not consistency from place to place and that it is important to inquire each time to be sure.

Salax Contributor
Salax
Posted

Becarefull with El Pollo, I read somewhere online that only the whole chicken and beans are gluten-free, suprising since they offer corn tortillas and rice...both of those were not on the gluten-free side of the menu....I don't know if that was accurate, but I stayed away. :)

Another place that has gluten-free/CF Fries is Fat Burger, I ate some the other day after looking up the info on their website and I was fine.

Best of luck!

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,397
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Megannnnn
    Newest Member
    Megannnnn
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Coeliac UK Research Conference 2025

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Thanks for sharing this!
    • Scott Adams
      Shingles - Could It Be Related to Gluten/ Celiac

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I had the same thing happen to me at around your age, and to this day it's the most painful experience I've ever had. For me it was the right side of my head, above my ear, running from my nerves in my neck. For years before my outbreak I felt a tingling sensation shooting along the exact nerves that ended up exactly where the shingles blisters appeared. I highly recommend the two shot shingles vaccine as soon as your turn 50--I did this because I started to get the same tingling sensations in the same area, and after the vaccines I've never felt that again.  As you likely know, shingles is caused by chicken pox, which was once though of as one of those harmless childhood viruses that everyone should catch in the wild--little did they know that it can stay in your nervous system for your entire life, and cause major issues as you age.
    • trents
      Blood tests low iGA 4 years later digestive issues

      By trents · Posted

      Keep us posted.
    • Clear2me
      Gluten free nuts

      By Clear2me · Posted

      Thanks for the info. I recently moved to CA from Wyoming and in that western region the Costco and Sam's /Walmart Brands have many nuts and more products that are labeled gluten free. I was told it's because those products are packaged and processed  in different  plants. Some plants can be labeled  gluten free because the plant does not also package gluten products and they know that for example the trucks, containers equipment are not used to handle wheat, barely or Rye. The Walmart butter in the western region says gluten free but not here. Most of The Kirkland and Members Mark brands in CA say they are from Vietnam. That's not the case in Wyoming and Colorado. I've spoken to customer service at the stores here in California. They were not helpful. I check labels every time I go to the store. The stores where I am are a Sh*tshow. The Magalopoly grocery chain Vons/Safeway/Albertsons, etc. are the same. Fishers and Planters brands no longer say gluten free. It could be regional. There are nuts with sugar coatings and fruit and nut mixes at the big chains that are labeled gluten free but I don't want the fruit or sugar.  It's so difficult I am considering moving again. I thought it would be easier to find safe food in a more populated area. It's actually worse.  I was undiagnosed for most of my life but not because I didn't try to figure it out. So I have had all the complications possible. I don't have any spare organs left.  No a little gluten will hurt you. The autoimmune process continues to destroy your organs though you may not feel it. If you are getting a little all the time and as much as we try we probably all are and so the damage is happening. Now the FDA has pretty much abandoned celiacs. There are no requirements for labeling for common allergens on medications. All the generic drugs made outside the US are not regulated for common allergens and the FDA is taking the last gluten free porcine Thyroid med, NP Thyroid, off the market in 2026. I was being glutened by a generic levothyroxin. The insurance wouldn't pay for the gluten free brand any longer because the FDA took them all off their approved formulary. So now I am paying $147 out of pocket for NP Thyroid but shortly I will have no safe choice. Other people with allergies should be aware that these foreign generic pharmaceutical producers are using ground shellfish shell as pill coatings and anti-desicants. The FDA knows this but  now just waits for consumers to complain or die. The take over of Wholefoods by Amazon destroyed a very reliable source of good high quality food for people with allergies and for people who wanted good reliably organic food. Bezos thought  he could make a fortune off people who were paying alot for organic and allergen free food by substituting cheap brands from Thailand. He didn't understand who the customers were who were willing to pay more for that food and why. I went from spending hundreds to nothing because Bezo removed every single trusted brand that I was buying. Now they are closing Whole foods stores across the country. In CA, Mill Valley store (closed July 2025) and the National Blvd. store in West Los Angeles (closed October 2025). The Cupertino store will close.  In recent years I have learned to be careful and trust no one. I have been deleberately glutened in a restaurant that was my favorite (a new employee). The Chef owner was not in the kitchen that night. I've had  a metal scouring pad cut up over my food.The chain offered gluten free dishes but it only takes one crazy who thinks you're a problem as a food fadist. Good thing I always look. Good thing they didn't do that to food going to a child with a busy mom.  I give big tips and apologize for having to ask in restaurants but mental illness seem to be rampant. I've learn the hard way.          I don't buy any processed food that doesn't say gluten free.  I am a life long Catholic. I worked for the Church while at college. I don't go to Church anymore because the men at the top decided Jesus is gluten. The special hosts are gluten less not gluten free. No I can't drink wine after people with gluten in their mouth and a variety of deadly germs. I have been abandoned and excluded by my Church/Family.  Having nearly died several times, safe food is paramount. If your immune system collapses as mine did, you get sepsis. It can kill you very quickly. I spent 5 days unconscious and had to have my appendix and gall bladder removed because they were necrotic. I was 25. They didn't figure out I had celiac till I was 53. No one will take the time to tell you what can happen when your immune system gets overwhelmed from its constant fighting the gluten and just stops. It is miserable that our food is processed so carelessly. Our food in many aspects is not safe. And the merging of all the grocery chains has made it far worse. Its a disaster. Krogers also recently purchased Vitacost where I was getting the products I could no longer get at Whole Foods. Kroger is eliminating those products from Vitacost just a Bezos did from WF. I am looking for reliable and certified sources for nuts. I have lived the worst consequences of the disease and being exposed unknowingly and maliciously. Once I was diagnosed I learned way more than anyone should have to about the food industry.  I don't do gray areas. And now I dont eat out except very rarely.  I have not eaten fast food for 30 years before the celiac diagnosis. Gluten aside..... It's not food and it's not safe.  No one has got our backs. Sharing safe food sources is one thing we can do to try to be safe.        
    • Mmoc
      Blood tests low iGA 4 years later digestive issues

      By Mmoc · Posted

      Thank you kindly for your response. I have since gotten the other type of bloods done and am awaiting results. 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.