They may be a convenient way to satiate your hunger while on the go,
but fast food hamburgers appear to offer little in the way of actual
meat content, according to a recent study published in the Journal Annals of Diagnostic Pathology.
Researchers from the Laurel School in Shaker Heights, Ohio found that
among eight popular fast food hamburgers analyzed, some were found to
contain as little as two percent actual meat—which may come as a
surprise to some.
A cornerstone of American food culture, hamburgers are consumed at a
rate of about five billion patties annually in the U.S. Most people who
eat hamburgers likely assume that those succulent patties grilled over
an open flame are pure meat from cows. But according to the histological
data, hamburger patties are generally composed mostly of water, as well
as varying percentages of random tissues, nerves, and a small
percentage of actual meat.
Based on their analysis, Laurel School researchers found that the
water content of fast food hamburgers typically ranges between 37.7
percent and 62.4 percent, with an average of about 49 percent. Electron
microscopy analysis revealed preserved skeletal muscle, which is good,
as well as a variety of tissue types including blood vessels, peripheral
nerves, adipose tissue (body fat), cartilage, and bone. But the kicker
was the actual meat content.
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