Chicken's head found in fast food order at McDonald's
November 30, 2000 8:17 AM   Subscribe

Chicken's head found in fast food order at McDonald's [via MeatFilter.com] "Katherine Ortega said she found a fried chicken's head in the box of chicken wings she ordered Tuesday night" The picture of the chicken head is not to be missed.
posted by Outlawyr (35 comments total)
 
This was on the news yesterday and disgusted me to no end. But it's also funny in a sadistic way.

If you need motivation to not eat the "chicken" at McDonald's, or to be a vegetarian, here it is!

Thanks for posting this - I was looking for it last night.
posted by hijinx at 8:58 AM on November 30, 2000


I have been considering vegetarianism for a while. Thanks for the push!
posted by stellabee at 9:01 AM on November 30, 2000


"Parts is parts."
posted by m.polo at 9:14 AM on November 30, 2000


I have unpleasant images in my head as I try to conjure up what a meatfilter would look like.I stopped eating most fast food years ago, after one of my coworkers called Taco Bell, "TB" and I was unable to break the mnemonic tuberculosis connection that formed. Ick.I don't wanna stop eating meat, but I would like to stop paying others to do my killing for me. Someday I will only eat what I kill, and meat eating will be a solemn seldom done thing.
posted by thirteen at 9:15 AM on November 30, 2000


Parts is parts is right!
Why is it grosser to eat a chicken head than a leg? Why do people who eat chicken legs squeal in disgust when I get chicken feet at the dim sum? Yep, there's plenty of good reasons to be veg and I applaud them all. I don't eat 'em often, but if god didn't want us to eat animals, s/he wouldn't have made 'em out of meat.
posted by mimi at 9:17 AM on November 30, 2000


When I saw that picture, I instantly thought that was a fake news article, like one I would read on BBspot or Onion... But its real. And I'm not all that suprised. How sad is that?

~tallman
posted by tallman at 9:29 AM on November 30, 2000


My question is: what McDonald's sells "chicken wings"? They're McNuggets, for heaven's sake.

Of course, I have reduced myself to only being able to eat the fries from McDonald's. At least Burger King's chicken sandwich, processed as it is, has a semi-edible flavor to it.
posted by stefnet at 9:35 AM on November 30, 2000


McDonald's has been selling chicken wings in addition to McNuggets recently. I mean, now at least you know they use actual chicken for their chicken wings and not something else.
posted by gyc at 9:37 AM on November 30, 2000


I stopped eating most fast food years ago, after one of my coworkers called Taco Bell, "TB" and I was unable to break the mnemonic tuberculosis connection that formed.
thirteen: I know exactly what you mean. A friend of mine refers to Boston Market as "BM." Same implications.
(Unrelated: I wonder how many people accidentally end up on MetaFilter by mistyping MeatFilter, and vice versa?)
posted by highindustrial at 10:42 AM on November 30, 2000


Unrelated: I wonder how many people accidentally end up on MetaFilter by mistyping MeatFilter, and vice versa?)

...or the little-known corollary site, "meatlifter". Porn, most likely. Either that or it's an e-spatula concern.
posted by dcehr at 10:52 AM on November 30, 2000


I'm getting a DNS error when I follow the link. Anybody grab the photo while they were there, by any chance? For some gross reason, I really want to see it.
posted by megnut at 11:34 AM on November 30, 2000


New link, courtesy of NewsBlogger. :)
posted by hijinx at 11:42 AM on November 30, 2000


...And, a slightly different angle. Note the fine deep-frying. Mmmm!
posted by hijinx at 11:44 AM on November 30, 2000


YUMMY!
posted by ookamaka at 12:10 PM on November 30, 2000




I don't see why anyone should be so shocked and disgusted. It's junk food. What do you think junk food is? I'm sure Chicken McNuggets is nothing more than 100 percent pure chicken head. I bet they've even got a little of that chicken head in the chocolate shakes. Face it, when you're going to McDonald's you'll be eating chicken head. I'm surprised it hadn't come out earlier.
posted by leo at 1:05 PM on November 30, 2000


Yeah, but at least they grind it up before mixing it in with the secret sauce. I don't mind eating it, just so long as I don't have to chew through the comb.
posted by cCranium at 1:40 PM on November 30, 2000


Wow! So they are using REAL chicken in their nuggets! What might I find in my big mac?
posted by ljc at 2:04 PM on November 30, 2000


So, Meatfilter.com is a reality. I just want to go on record as the original genius who coined the term. My royalties can be sent to my Paypal account.

Or at least a note about this new veggie weblog...
posted by rschram at 2:14 PM on November 30, 2000


"Ortega said she wants to know how the chicken's head could have made it past inspectors and into the hands of a customer."

What I want to know is, when the heck did McD's start selling chicken WINGS? That's news to me. Not like the McNuggets aren't already cookie-cut out shapes of various chicken parts? New sandwich idea, the McBeak?
posted by 120degrees at 2:22 PM on November 30, 2000


Maybe this is to coincide w/ the video release of Chicken Run?
posted by gyc at 3:05 PM on November 30, 2000


Is everyone aware that there is no prime bit of beef in any of McDonalds' burgers, it's all the reject cow bits no one wants to eat that gets minced into those meat patties. So that chicken head thing doesn't suprise me one bit.
posted by Zool at 3:14 PM on November 30, 2000


Is everyone aware that there is no prime bit of beef in any of McDonalds' burgers, it's all the reject cow bits no one wants to eat that gets minced into those meat patties.

Mmm, but that tasteless, low-grade meat makes for a good burger. Nothing tops a quarter pounder with cheese, mustard, and ketchup with fries and a coke if you're in the mood for fast food. YUM!
posted by daveadams at 4:04 PM on November 30, 2000


Eek. Anyone who eats fast food has a lot more to worry about than chicken heads. A friend of mine who once worked at Taco Bell once told me that the meat that they use is lower grade than the meat they use for dog food. Having eaten their tacos, I tend to agree.
posted by Mr. skullhead at 5:20 PM on November 30, 2000


Ah! I knew something was missing from the Turdurken!
posted by Wizzle at 5:54 PM on November 30, 2000


Compared to Europe, I don't think the occasional chicken head in McNuggets is that bad at all. Germany is perhaps the latest country to take action regarding mandatory beef testing. England, France, and several other countries have also had to face this dilemma.

It has been perhaps a routine and ignorantly innocent solution for many animal farmers. This practice may be decades old, if not older. In order to resolve waste and keep the costs down, farmers would grind meat and bone into the equivalent of normal vegetable feed, mixing it with such so that the living animals can't tell the difference. It's cost-effective, and since we're dealing with dumb animals, they wouldn't care. So what if they're forcefully turned into cannibals? They're just cows. Kinda reminds me of Soylent Green.

However, unlike vegetable feed, animal matter treated in this way is susceptible to bacteria and other causes of spoilage. If not kept properly, this ground up crap wouldn't be fit for flies. Also, if they're using refuse for feed, who knows what might be discarded for later use in this way?

It was and is an accident waiting to happen. Here in America, there are allegedly systems set up with both government and private organizations to perform checks and keep the food supply safe. Granted, they're not perfect. They're run by humans. They are fallible. However, in comparison, I think we're doing pretty well. I mean, in a country where the arguments against McDonalds consist of one chicken head found with the wings, and an accusation that they make their coffee too hot (???), I'd rather go to a McDonalds here in the US than anywhere else.
posted by ZachsMind at 7:28 PM on November 30, 2000


Good point, ZachsMind. That's exactly where Mad Cow Disease comes from (not from bacteria, but from feeding left over cow brains back to cows).Cannibalism in New Guinea caused the same type of illness.
posted by Mr. skullhead at 7:45 PM on November 30, 2000


Its amazing the number of people that 'mistake' had to go through in order for it to happen. the most amazing of which is probably the bit where the work experience kid packed it into the box.

But besides that, the concept of a fried chicken head really isn't that disgusting, and it really shouldn't be any different to any other chicken part. Its actually very customary, if not required, in most Chinese restaurants to include the fried head (and often, the buttocks) of the chicken (as it is cooked in whole). Whether you wish to eat it or not is your business (most don't).

So yeah it was a mistake, but its not a danger to their health or something as incredibly disgusting as the news and the 'victim' makes it out to be. People seem to be freaking out as though it was that fried rat at KFC (insert link to urban myths site)
posted by aki at 9:53 PM on November 30, 2000


Wow, buttocks of the chicken! What further proof do we need that this is truly a miracle bird? After Mother Nature made her, she broke the mould. I'm thinking of blowing everything off and just hanging out at McDonalds all day eating ChickenHeads and McButtock Sandwiches. Can't get enough of this stuff, no way.
posted by leo at 11:16 PM on November 30, 2000


What's wrong with eating buttocks? The best meat on pigs and cows comes from the rump. I know less about the muscular structure of chickens, but I imagine there are lots of strong, tender muscles around that area.

Now, the head, I'm not so sure I like that idea, but generally, the meat I like is the muscle of the animal in question.
posted by daveadams at 8:35 AM on December 1, 2000


"I imagine there are lots of strong, tender muscles around that area."

Ass sphincter say what? It's bony and tough, which is why I don't make a habit out of eating chicken butts.

I personally think someone put the chicken head in the batter as a joke for some kid to find. "Mommy! There's a head in my food!" Like Aki says, there's no real harm in doing so because it's not a safety hazard like a roach or a rat would be.
posted by evilmaryellen at 12:17 PM on December 1, 2000


it could just be test marketing--probably some parts of the world might consider deep-fried chicken head a real swell treat....they done other lame things like that....
posted by th3ph17 at 12:53 PM on December 1, 2000


I had a McLobster sandwich many years back, and it was not good. More like a cold lobstersalad sandwich. I don't like lobster in the first place, so it was money ill spent. The only McDonalds thing I ever miss these days were these amazing fries with cheese kurds and gravy that I got in a Montreal McDonald's while on that same vacation, those were good. Doubly good was the discovery that in Canada they still use the little coffee stir spoons that were banned in the states because they became popular for serving up cocaine.
posted by thirteen at 1:47 PM on December 2, 2000


Thirteen: You can get poutine (fries with cheese curds and gravy) almost anywhere in Ontario and Quebec, and probably lots of other provinces, if you're ever in Canada.
posted by cCranium at 4:37 AM on December 3, 2000


why is there a link to metafilter on the meatfilter site?
posted by rhyax at 8:08 PM on March 30, 2002


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