Silly Putty Ingredient Found in Chicken McNuggets

So here's a Friday riddle for you: What do silly putty, McDonald's Chicken McNuggets, and cosmetics have in common? A gummy texture, unnatural colors, and off-putting smells would probably all be technically correct here, but it's not the answer I'm looking for. The shocking similarity amongst these three items is that they all contain dimethylpolysiloxane, a form of silicone.

The fact that silicone is in silly putty (a child's toy) and cosmetics (a substance most people cake on their faces every day) is disturbing enough. But put that chemical in a food item and I'm downright nauseated. According to a story on Grist, dimethylpolysiloxane is an anti-foaming agent. You know, to keep frying oil from getting too foamy when McDonald's employees drop the nuggets into that piping hot vat of grease.

Dimethylpolysiloxane isn't the only scary substance lurking in Happy Meals. According to CNN, Chicken McNuggets also contain tertiary butylhydroquinone (tBHQ), a petroleum-based preservative for vegetable oils and animal fats. Experts worry about oil making its way into Gulf seafood over the past couple months. Turns out the Golden Arches has been pumping petroleum-based goods into its McNuggets for years.

To be fair, health experts say that these chemicals are found in such small amounts in McNuggets that they probably won't harm consumers. According to CNN, even Marion Nestle, famed foodie and author of What to Eat, says that the substances are not likely to pose any health risks.

Still, silicone isn't something anyone should consider food. And according to A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives, one gram of tBHQ can cause "nausea, vomiting, ringing in ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse." So if the thought of McNuggets alone doesn't induce nausea, eating several dozen of them just may do the trick.

My point here is not to say that Chicken McNuggets are unhealthy. I mean, they are fried bits of chicken. I don't think anyone is under any delusions that McNuggets could be considered part of a healthy diet. But while consumers are aware that McDonald's chicken is high in fat and sodium, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find many people who know that McNuggets contain silicone and petroleum-derived preservatives. If you're going to serve people fried chicken, the only ingredients should be chicken, flour, spices, and oil.

Photo credit: Link576 via Flickr