Where Does McDonald's Beef Come From, Anyway?

Fast food behemoth McDonald's sells an estimated 75 burgers every second at its many locations all over the world. That is a monumental amount of beef, and matching that impressive statistic day in and day out requires a reliable production source. There may only be one burger from McDonald's that can be ordered freshly cooked, but all its burgers come from the same company that has taken on the herculean task of supplying the Golden Arches with all of its beef for the U.S. market.

Lopez Foods has enjoyed a longstanding partnership with McDonald's, providing the restaurant with USDA-inspected beef for over 30 years. Along with beef patties, the meat producer also delivers breaded poultry, ground beef and pork, sliced deli meats, and more to other businesses around the globe, including Starbucks. Although some might still be wary of ordering a Quarter Pounder with Cheese after the McDonald's E. coli outbreak in 2024, it is important to note that the beef that Lopez Foods supplies was not the source of the contamination. The company prides itself on producing safe food for all its partners, and it has various fail-safes in place to ensure its quality remains consistent.

Lopez Foods maintains rigorous safety specifications for all the meat it produces. It has third-party companies come in to perform annual audits to ensure its standards are adhered to, and should anything out of the ordinary occur, the company can track where a product came from and where it went within two hours using an internal computerized stock recovery system. The business takes representing the brands it partners with seriously by demonstrating a commitment to excellence in its effort to monitor every step of the food chain.

As remarkable as the corporation's prioritization of food safety is, Lopez Foods CEO Ed Sanchez understands the credit for maintaining those standards isn't reserved for the corporate office folks. In a statement on McDonald's website, he said, "I think what makes Lopez Foods special is the family atmosphere that we all have in the company. And from management all the way down to the production workers, we come together to achieve that goal on McDonald's quality." 

The mammoth fast-food business may be going all in on chicken this year as it brings back the once-discontinued McDonald's Chicken Selects, but Lopez Foods will continue to provide the restaurant with its beef for folks who won't be satisfied without a cheeseburger.