A woman posted a photo of a fast food meal she bought six years ago — and it looks like it was made today. It had not rotted, molded, or decomposed at all, smelling only of cardboard!
She said it was an experiment to show her patients how unhealthy fast food is, ending with the caption:
There are so many chemicals in fast food. Choose real food! Apples, bananas, carrots,…. these are real fast food.
Is This Even Possible?
Even though six years seems like a stretch, registered dietician Jessica Cording says it can happen. The reason it shouldn’t come as much surprise is because of the high sodium content of fast food.
People have been using salt for thousands of years to preserve foods, so even though fast food isn’t intended to last a long journey across the ocean, or sustain you through war times or a drought, the salt in there may have that same effect.
Some of the main ingredients used for making fast food are or contain sodium. And even if they contain less sodium, the fact that they are created with and cooked in oil, may also help preserve them.
Bacteria that breaks down food doesn’t like dry environments, and because fast food like fries are double-fried and frozen removes almost all of the water from the product, meaning that it is not a suitable environment for bacteria — thus the food does not rot, or does so at a much slower rate.
Also, excessive sodium intake over time can lead to a variety of chronic health conditions that can start in childhood, among which are: High blood pressure, weight gain, and heart disease.
While it is probably alright to have fast food as a special treat every now and then, but it becomes a red flag for regular consumers of fast food. But there still remains many reasons to avoid fast food – large portions, high calorie content, excessive amounts of sodium, sugar, and fat, and more.
