The Burger King ingredient panic.
On July 20, Dr. Paul Saladino caused panic once more by criticizing Burger King's Whopper for having 85 ingredients (which is true but requires an explanation.) This criticism was primarily shared on Instagram, TikTok, X, and a few viral aggregator websites. (Those are websites that extract new content from a variety of online sources, such as Yahoo & NewsBreak.) Dr. Paul Saladino is a real MD, double-board certified in psychiatry & another specialty, but his nutrition positions are highly controversial & not representative of mainstream nutrition. These same claims circulated widely in 2020-2024, again started by Dr. Saladino. He is known for promoting "animal-based/carnivore diets." He also runs a YouTube channel. His nutrition claims come from his personal dietary philosophy, not from formal nutritional credentials; therefore, I think what he says should be taken with a grain of salt, so to speak.
Saladino frequently labels FDA-approved additives as "toxic" or "banned," even when they are not. So let's examine what some of those 85 ingredients that a Whopper has are. It comes by counting every ingredient in every component of the Whopper. For example, the bun can easily have 20-30 ingredients, mayo (10-15), ketchup (10-15), & pickles (10-15); all the toppings count as one & the patty. Add them all up & you can easily reach 85, especially when every emulsifier, preservative, & vitamin is counted separately. The bun is mostly flour, water, yeast, sugar, salt, oil or shortening, & sesame seeds. Add to this a dough conditioner (potassium iodate), a mold inhibitor (calcium propionate), emulsifiers (mono- and diglycerides), and a dough strengthener, diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides (DATEM). Then there's soy lecithin, an emulsifier & a texture agent to soften it; sodium stearoyl lactylate & enzymes, which help the dough rise & brown.
The mayo has oil, egg yolk, vinegar, water, salt, sugar, lemon juice, lecithin, & preservatives like potassium sorbate or calcium disodium ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA). The ketchup has tomatoes, sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, vinegar, salt, spices, natural flavors & citric acid. Pickles are made of cucumbers, water, vinegar, salt, sugar, spices, calcium chloride, which adds crispness, & preservatives (sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate). The patty is the simple part because it is 100% beef, nothing else. The panic videos focus on hazard (this chemical can do X in high doses) & ignore risk (what does a tiny amount in a bun actually do?) Many additives have scary-sounding names, but they are harmless when used in the small amounts permitted. Take, for example, beta-delta-fructofuranosyl-alpha-delta-glucopyranoside. Would you eat that? Well, what if I told you that's just sugar?
Social media influencers claimed the beef patty is not cooked in seed oils, but they use canola oil for frying, which is a seed oil. The Whopper patty is flame-grilled without seed oils & does not contain any added oils. The viral video goes on to say Burger King's kitchen uses "Silly Putty" in its oil. Let's clarify. The ingredient added to the oil used in frying in their kitchen is dimethylpolysiloxane (DMPS). Yes, it's also used in Silly Putty, but so are water, salt & corn syrup. Sharing a chemical does not make foods unsafe. DMPS is an anti-foaming agent & it's added to frying oil in commercial kitchens to reduce dangerous splattering. When you fry at 350F (177C), oil can bubble violently, so anti-foaming agents protect workers from burns. The viral claim that it causes gut inflammation is false. Over 1 billion Whoppers are sold in the US every year.
If you really love Whopper burgers, you can make your own at home, just as tasty at a savings of 44-46%. To make it, buy a 1/4 lb (113 g) 100% beef ground patty. Shape it into a wide, thin patty (Whopper patties are large diameter). Season with salt & pepper. If possible, use an outdoor grill at 450-500°F (232-260°C) or a grill pan at high heat. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side. Next, lightly toast the sesame bun. Build it Whopper style—bottom bun, mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, patty, ketchup & the top bun. Burger King has a tried-and-true specific stacking order, so this order is important. The taste should be about 90% similar. Differences arise because BK's commercial flame broilers cook with direct gas flames that create a signature char pattern; BK mayo is slightly sweeter & thinner than most store-bought brands. But you can replicate the taste if you cook it on a grill with gas & let the fat drip onto the bottom of the grill to create smoky aromatics. Improve the nutritional profile by adding vegetables.