McDonald's McRib Sandwiches Made From Inverted Pork Rectums-Fiction!

McDonald’s McRib Sandwiches Made From Inverted Pork Rectums-Fiction!

Summary of eRumor:
Persistent claims that McDonald’s McRib sandwiches made from inverted pork rectums surfaced in December 2016 and again in August 2017.
The Truth:
Although pork rectum is fairly standard fare in some parts of the world, McDonald’s McRib sandwiches are made from pork shoulder, not pork rectums.
Questions about the contents of the McRib surfaced on the image-sharing website imgur in December 2016 when a user posted a photo of a cardboard box labeled “pork rectums, inverted” and said it was taken outside of a McDonald’s restaurant: “And people can’t wait to sink their teeth into ‘em. McDonald’s you nasty bastards! So when you order the McRIB, you’re actually ordering pig a**.”

McDonalds McRib ingredients
A post falsely claiming that McDonalds’ McRib sandwiches are made from pork rectums sparked concern in August 2017.

The post, which was quickly shared on Facebook nearly 30,000 times sparked quite a bit of concern, and rightly so. However, the image of the cardboard box wasn’t taken outside of a McDonald’s, and it wasn’t taken in 2016. The photo was actually taken outside a Taiwanese restaurant that was apparently planning on dicing them up and using them to make dumplings.
The first appeared at a Chinese discussion board called Forumosa.org in 2007. In 2014 and 2015, the image made its way to the U.S., along with the claim that Tyson Foods was selling inverted pork rectums under the table. Although Tyson has declined comment on the matter, it wouldn’t be surprising if U.S. companies were, in fact, shipping pork rectums abroad.
Look no further than ecplaza.net, a website that connects importers and exporters from different parts of the world. Posts can frequently be found there from foodservice reps seeking pork rectums, pork rectum intestines and pork offals (or entrails). A company in Korea, for example, sought a regular supply from a U.S. producer for a restaurant in this post:

We are a trading company in Korea and looking for “Pork Rectum” from the United States and will buy 2~3 20 feet containers of that every month. If you are interested in supplying that, please let us know the price, terms of payment and delivery…

But are pork rectums used to make the McRib? Thankfully, no. McDonald’s explained in a 2014 video that pork shoulder is the primary ingredient in the McRib. It’s ground up, salt and preservatives are added, the meat is dumped onto a conveyor belt and molds are used to form it into the classic McRib-shaped patties.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzo_3V1igIo[/embedyt]
That video is part of a 2014 marketing campaign that McDonald’s launched to make customers feel more comfortable with its ingredients and food processing systems. We’ve looked at various rumors over the years about McDonald’s, including rumors that McDonald’s shakes are made from plastic, that McDonald’s uses worm meat fillers, and that McDonald’s coffee contains french fry grease, just to name a few.