When it comes to eating, the first thing I tell people to do is to read ingredient lists.
This is the #1 thing that everyone should do to truly know what you are eating and stay away from ultra-processed food chemicals.
Yet, many big restaurant chains don’t publish their ingredients online and some will flat-out refuse to tell you what’s in their food if you ask.
Some chains will eventually provide ingredients privately to you if you call and pester them to death… but most customers don’t have that kind of tenacity.
This is not only maddening, but very unethical.
Currently, the U.S. government doesn’t require restaurants to disclose full ingredient information (only allergen info), so they are given a free pass to hide their ultra-processed ingredients from consumers and leave us completely in the dark…
Do they use Titanium Dioxide banned in Europe?
Do they dye their pickles with Yellow 5 that requires a warning label in Europe?
Do they use emulsifiers and gums that leave you feeling bloated and gassy?
Do they fry their chicken in GMO seed oils that promote inflammatory diseases?
So many important questions! These ingredients may not be common allergens, but we have good reasons to avoid them.
This is why if any restaurant refuses to tell you the ingredients in your food, you should run the other way and don’t go back.
Restaurants will tell you that they won’t disclose ingredients for “Proprietary” reasons… as if they’re worried a competitor will steal their recipes.
This can’t be true. The biggest restaurant chains like McDonalds, Subway, Starbucks, Taco Bell, and Chick-fil-A have their full ingredient lists published on their websites for everyone to see…and have for years.
There is no logical reason for restaurants to refuse to disclose ingredients…unless they are hiding something (like the awful quality of their food!)
How are we supposed to take control of our health if we don’t even know what we’re eating?
This is why you need to know who these restaurants are, so you can protect yourself and your family.
In-N-Out
Burger King (BK)
Moe’s Southwest Grill
Wingstop
Raising Cane’s
Jimmy John’s
Sonic Drive-In
Bojangles
Steak n’ Shake
Shake Shack (not published – by request only)
Here’s how each chain responded to us…
In-N-Out Burger:
Years ago I investigated their ingredients and although they refused to share ingredient lists with me, I was able to uncover that they had Yellow 5 and High Fructose Corn Syrup in their burger spread, and used Cottonseed Oil in their fryers (which they changed to sunflower oil after my investigation). (1)
We recently followed up with In-N-Out phone support and were told their ingredients were “confidential information…but if there is an allergy concern, we’re more than happy to share”. They did confirm that the burger sauce still contains High Fructose Corn Syrup and Soybean Oil, but no longer contains Artificial Color. They fryers still use Sunflower Oil, and the customer service rep didn’t find other ingredients in the fryer oil (but also stated he didn’t have access to a full detailed list of ingredients).
We know from recent news reports that they’re “researching an even better-quality oil for our fries” and removing artificial dyes from their pickles, strawberry shake, pink lemonade, spread, and chilies, and removing the Cottonseed Oil and Calcium Propionate from their buns. They’re also switching their ketchup to one that uses sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. (2)
These ingredients have been hidden from the public for years. Why don’t they publish all their ingredients online for complete transparency?
Burger King (BK):
In 2021, Burger King was glorified for publishing their “Blacklisted Ingredients List” of 120 artificial ingredients that they banned from their food, which I exposed as a TOTAL SHAM. (3)
Burger King blacklisted several ingredients twice under different names and many of them haven’t been allowed in American food for decades – so of course Burger King didn’t use them. They basically tried to pull the wool over the eyes of the American public in the name of transparency…but it was anything but that! BK was full of BS.
I also exposed that Burger King no longer publishes their ingredient lists online and you need to contact them personally to request this information. You can find older Burger King ingredient lists floating around online, but there is no indication that they’re current.
We recently contacted them via their website for ingredients in their “How To Train Your Dragon” Whopper and at first they only sent us links to their nutrition facts and allergen information found on their website (which does not include ingredient lists). When we further pressed them for ingredients they said, “at this moment, we can only provide the information currently available”.
When we pressed them even further, they eventually replied with ingredients in the BUN ONLY in their Dragon Flame-Grilled Whopper, and ingredients in their Fiery Dragon Mozzarella Fries, Viking’s Chocolate Sundae, and Soaring Strawberry Lemonade. (16) They refused to provide the remaining ingredients in the Whopper: “Unfortunately, we are unable to further assist you with this request…we have assisted in the best way possible given the current circumstances.“
We also attempted to call their customer service number, and it’s disconnected. They confirmed by email, “our Guest Care team does not currently offer dedicated phone-based support”. Then we called a local Burger King franchise, and they were sorry they couldn’t be more help as they didn’t have ingredient lists.
This is the 2nd largest fast food burger chain in the world! As a leader in the industry, they should have nothing to hide and be transparent with the public about what’s really in their food.
Moe’s Southwest Grill:
When we called Moe’s customer service, they confirmed that they do not publish the ingredients on their website and the agent on the phone did not have access to ingredients (besides common allergens). She told us to call my local franchise and that they would have ingredient information.
We called a local Moe’s and the manager was also unable to provide ingredients. She said the ingredients for the tortillas were not on the box and that she couldn’t find the ingredients for the queso “as the box had been opened”.
Expecting people to pester local franchise managers to scour for ingredient lists on boxes in the kitchen is ridiculous. Shouldn’t Moe’s provide a simple ingredient list to their customers?
Wingstop:
We contacted Wingstop for their ingredients, and they confirmed they cannot be found on their website (only common allergen information) and the agent did not have the ingredients. They indicated that someone could call us back with ingredients, and I will update here if they do.
We also contacted a Wingstop franchise and they responded in writing: “We can’t share the ingredient list as it contains proprietary information. We hope you understand!”
Their allergen statement does say, “All of our fried foods are cooked in oil that contains soy as an ingredient”, so we know they use soybean oil in their fryers.
Raising Cane’s:
Raising Canes confirmed on the phone that they don’t publish ingredients on their website and would not disclose full ingredient lists to us as they’re “very confidential” with “highly secret recipes”. They would only look up specific ingredients and tell me which menu items they were found in.
You will find soybean oil in Raising Cane’s chicken fingers, Cane’s sauce, honey mustard, fries, sandwich bun, and toast. You’ll also find TBHQ in their fried items like chicken fingers and fries.
Jimmy John’s:
Jimmy Johns said by email, “Unfortunately, we are unable to disclose our complete ingredient list, as it is confidential to our brand. If you provide the specific ingredients you are looking to avoid, I will be happy to send that over. I hope you’re able to give some of our tasty products a try after you get your allergy info!”
They later confirmed that their french bread contains soybean oil and calcium propionate, but would not provide complete ingredient list.
Sonic Drive-In:
Sonic confirmed that their full list of ingredients cannot be found on their website, only an allergen guide which says, “information does not identify all ingredients and may use generalized terms that may not adequately inform a person of the presence of all food substances that may produce an allergic reaction in some individuals”.
We also chatted with Sonic customer service on their website, where they said “upper management” would need to call us back with ingredients. No call has been received, but I’ll update here if they do.
Bojangles:
Growing up in Charlotte, I used to eat Bojangles every Friday in high school when seniors were allowed to leave the campus for lunch. They have a really large presence here – you see their advertising everywhere – sporting events, local charities, and schools!
About 10 years ago I came to find out that they were very secretive about their ingredients and they refused to provide them to me when I asked. This is why I launched a petition asking them to publish their ingredients in 2016, and they still have not officially responded. (4) A whistleblower later reached out to me and sent me pictures of ingredients listed on boxes inside the restaurant and I published them all on my blog. (5) This was back in 2017 – and we don’t know for sure if these ingredients are still current.
To this day, Bojangles has not published their ingredients on their website and has not returned my calls for ingredients.
Steak ‘n Shake:
You can find ingredients for a few of their items on their website, such as their fries and chicken fingers. However, the ingredients in their Steakburgers, Buns, Shakes, and other items are not listed. I also found some old ingredient lists posted elsewhere online, but there’s no indication that they are current.
We called Steak ‘n Shake, and confirmed that there are no ingredients listed for the buns and most of their menu items online, and that they couldn’t provide information beyond what is found on the website. The contact form on their website appears nonoperational at the moment.
Steak ‘n Shake announced they started using 100% beef tallow in their fryers (no preservatives, no chemicals, no additives), but you need to know that their fries are still par-fried in soybean and/or canola oil. (6) They’ve stated a commitment to remove seed oils from their restaurants, which includes the seed oils found in their buns, but this hasn’t been fully implemented yet. They recently replaced their “buttery blend” with real butter. (7)
These are some great first steps, but if they want to go full “MAHA”…we’re going to need full ingredient transparency from them.
Shake Shack:
I hate to pick on one of the few restaurants serving antibiotic-free meats…but Shake Shack needs to be more transparent about what’s in their food. They say, “We’re committed to sourcing real, premium ingredients”, yet they don’t publish them on their website.
They are the only restaurant we contacted who will provide complete ingredient lists to you if you personally contact them, but they do not publish them online. Why should customers have to jump through hoops to know what they are eating? It should be easily accessible.
Since they haven’t done it, I took it upon myself and published the ingredients in their Chicken Shack, Shack Burger, shake and fries. I was sad to find out that they use many controversial and processed ingredients like TBHQ, Soybean Oil, and Calcium Propionate in their food. (8)
Not exactly the “real premium ingredients” we’re being sold on.
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