Who Supplies McDonald's With Its Apple Slices?

Apple slices may not be the first food you think of when it comes to McDonald's, but believe it or not, the fast-food giant is the biggest apple buyer in the U.S. To maintain the more than 240 million pounds of apples they need per year, according to the USDA, McDonald's has six different apple suppliers to fill Happy Meals and side orders. One of its original suppliers is Peterson Farms, the largest private fruit processor in Michigan. In 2004, Peterson began supplying McDonald's apple slices, initially called Apple Dippers when they came with a caramel dipping sauce, processing apples from over 500 U.S. and Canadian farms. The farm is so instrumental to McDonald's that the fast-food chain named it U.S.A. Supplier of the Year in 2012.

Another major apple supplier for McDonald's is Leo Dietrich & Sons, a family-run orchard currently featured on the fast-food giant's website. The Dietrich family began farming its orchard in Conklin, Michigan, in 1853, and hand-picks around 10,000 apples a day during harvest season to supply Happy Meal apple slices (via McDonald's). In 2013, McDonald's even featured the farm in a commercial promoting its use of Michigan-grown apples (via Fruit Grower News). Incidentally, these numbers don't count toward McDonald's Baked Apple Pie: The company outsources its production to Bama Companies in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has since the handheld dessert's debut in 1968.

At first glance, McDonald's apple slices don't seem that remarkable. They're sold in little plastic 1.2-ounce bags, often in a Happy Meal or as a side if you want to feel healthy. The slices provide about ¼ cup of fruit (via PR Newswire) and have about 15 calories per serving, although some disgruntled Reddit users report bags that sometimes contain only two or three slices, or even none at all. 

As for the types of apples you're actually getting, it varies. Leo Dietrich & Sons grows Gala, Jonagold, and Empire for McDonald's. While Peterson Farms processes numerous varieties, including Fuji, Jonathan, Golden Delicious, Northern Spy, and Ida Red, it doesn't specify which are destined for McDonald's.

But the bigger mystery for some is how McDonald's apple slices don't turn brown. On Reddit, one user left out a McDonald's apple slice for two days to see what happened and reported it "didn't turn brown, no fruit flies, not even an ant wants to touch whatever evil this is made of." Fortunately, the reason is not so sinister. Because apples brown due to oxidation, McDonald's suppliers dip their apple slices in a calcium ascorbate solution called Nature Seal (via USDA). Essentially, it's calcium and Vitamin C, the latter of which fights that pesky oxidation. Apparently, it can keep apples from spoiling for up to 14 days (although we have some more natural tips to keep apples from browning). But at least they're real apples and not some kind of GMO abomination, even if their pristine appearance is slightly unsettling.