Fast Food Takes Weeks to Spoil

OMAHA, Neb. -- Omaha scientists are sharing the results of a test to find out how quickly fast food can show signs of mold. The research found that just because food can be cooked or eaten quickly doesn't mean it breaks down at the same speed. Erin Smith of Midwest Laboratories said she purchased two kids meals from local fast food chains. "We first put them in these plastic containers to see if they would grow mold," she said. She said she waited and waited for signs of mold. After three months, the fries and hamburger didn't appear to have mold but had dried out. "They were really dry. The beef became like beef jerky. The bread became like a crouton," Smith said.

Mold showed up a homemade hamburger within days.
She said she tried the same experiment with a homemade hamburger. After just a few days, mold grew on the food. A month later, it was completely black and fuzzy.
"We didn't understand why they were lasting and that's why we decided it had to be moisture-related," Smith said. She said she tried to do the experiment in a different way, buying two more fast food meals and putting them in Ziploc bags, where moisture would have a better chance of getting in.

Mold did grow on one of the two fast food meals the second time around, appearing on the hamburger 14 days later. The bun showed signs of mold after about four weeks. The second meal, weeks later, was still mold-free.
She said her conclusion is that fast food contains a protein or chemical structure that restricts moisture and doesn't give bacteria a chance to grow.
Fast food companies wouldn't respond to inquiries from KETV NewsWatch 7, but Smith said she has a theory.

"We did a little research of our own and found that some beef that goes to fast food restaurants is treated with ammonium hydroxide," Smith said. "It's a chemical, but also something we produce naturally and they put it in the beef to hold it up longer for processing."

Beef Products Inc. of Dakota Dunes, S.D., supplies beef patties to many fast food restaurants and said its use of ammonium hydroxide in meat is not harmful.

"Ammonia is a naturally occurring substance that is contained in all life forms, from plants to animals to humans," the company said in a statement on its website. "Ammonia is used extensively in the production of a wide range of food and beverages."
"There is 3,000 different additives in food, that alone is mind-boggling," said Nessie Ferguson, a registered dietitian at the Nebraska Medical Center.
She said Smith's experiment shows the benefit of eating homemade, less processed foods as often as possible.

"Homemade, you have control of what you're putting in and how much you're putting in, versus when you buy out, you really lose that control and you don't actually know what's in there," Ferguson said.

She said that by eating processed foods, people could be depriving their bodies of nutrients that natural foods provide.


"When you're buying healthy foods, you're actually buying the food itself. You're not buying additional fat and salt that goes with the convenience foods," Ferguson said.Copyright 2011 by KETV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.