Where Does McDonald’s Get Their Chicken? A Look at the Fast Food Chain’s Poultry Supply

McDonald’s is one of the largest fast food chains in the world, serving around 69 million customers every day With so many locations and customers to feed, sourcing quality ingredients in large quantities is crucial to McDonald’s operations One of their most popular menu items is chicken – from McNuggets to McChicken sandwiches. But where exactly does all this poultry come from?

As one of the biggest restaurant chains around, McDonald’s has a complex network of approved suppliers who must meet rigorous standards While they source from multiple companies, some of their main chicken providers include Keystone Foods, Lopez Foods, and Cargill. Let’s take a closer look at these major suppliers and McDonald’s overall approach to sourcing poultry

Keystone Foods

Keystone Foods, a subsidiary of Brazilian meat company JBS, is one of McDonald’s biggest suppliers. They provide a significant amount of chicken for McDonald’s menu items, including the famous Chicken McNuggets. Keystone has processing plants and distribution centers across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. This global reach allows them to efficiently deliver large volumes of meat to McDonald’s locations worldwide.

To meet McDonald’s expectations, Keystone Foods employs stringent food safety procedures at their facilities. Their chicken goes through various quality checks during processing to ensure it is safe for consumption. McDonald’s also audits Keystone’s operations regularly, keeping close oversight on their supply chain.

Lopez Foods

While Keystone provides a lot of McDonald’s chicken, they are not the only key supplier. Lopez Foods, headquartered in Oklahoma, is another major provider for McDonald’s US operations. They deliver chicken products to distribution centers and restaurants across the country.

Lopez Foods has a strong focus on animal welfare in their farming operations. They have specific guidelines for raising chickens humanely and ethically. McDonald’s values this commitment to responsible animal agriculture in their partner suppliers.

Cargill

Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Their North American poultry business, based in Springdale, Arkansas, produces fresh and prepared chicken products for McDonald’s.

With facilities across America, Cargill can efficiently supply large volumes to meet McDonald’s substantial demand. Their proximity to McDonald’s restaurant locations also enables timely delivery of perishable poultry.

Diverse Network of Suppliers

While Keystone Foods, Lopez Foods and Cargill make up a significant portion of their supply, McDonald’s also sources chicken from many other companies. They contract with over 2,000 independent farmers and companies in the US alone.

This diverse network of suppliers provides flexibility and mitigates risk. If any single supplier faces an issue, McDonald’s has alternative sources to call upon. Multisourcing chicken also allows them to choose suppliers located closest to each restaurant for optimal freshness and fast delivery.

Rigorous Standards

Regardless of the specific supplier, McDonald’s maintains rigorous standards for all their protein providers. Their suppliers must achieve certification from organizations like the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). Facilities are subject to regular audits by McDonald’s own food safety and quality experts as well.

From the farm to the processing plant, McDonald’s expects humane treatment of chickens by their suppliers. They also demand strict adherence to food safety protocols during rearing, transportation and processing. This ensures the quality and integrity consumers expect from the McDonald’s brand.