34 Times That Fast-Food Chains Had to Put Humble Pie on the Menu

With the amount of money that these world-dominating swill peddlers rake in, you’d think they’d have carte blanche to pull off any harebrained, dastardly scheme they concocted in some underground lair. Luckily, though, some hard-nosed regulations and the distaste of the general public lets them know that there are, in fact, some boundaries. And so, here are the times famous fast-food chains have had to have a taste of their own transfat-filled medicine…

34

McDonald's changed its French fry recipe because of a customer with a grudge. Businessman Phil Sokolof spent $3 million on ads scolding fast food restaurants for their unhealthy food. When he targeted McD specifically, they folded. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

33

The Priazzo was uncookably thick deep-dish pizza. CRACKED.COM Pizza Hut threw an Italian-sounding name on a casserole that was so thick, it took longer to cook than anyone was willing to wait for it. — Source

32

The ВК Piss Meal MUAD MIAS SED N FE M YAAAS и SALTY MEAL DGAF MEAL CRACKED.COM In a bizarre attempted dunk on the Happy Meal, Burger King introduced a series of competing mood-based meals, including, for some reason, the YAAAS Meal and the Pissed Meal. — Source

31

McDonald's egged on sci-fi nerds sze CHUA sauce MU DEAL not the CRACKED.COM After the notorious Rick & Morty Szechuan sauce episode, McDonald's very publicly over-promised a limited time return of their signature sugar goop. Fans turned out in droves, and were extremely miffed when they quickly ran out. Dan Harmon says the show had nothing to do with the promotion -- Ronald brought this on himself. — Source

30

Krispy Kreme (accidentally) supports the Klan COLOURING LUESDAY 18th February, 12:00pm - 5.00pm KKK WEDNESDAY CRACKED.COM In 2015, a Krispy Kreme location in the UK planned a week of fun family events, including a Wednesday dedicated to the unfortunately named Krispy Kreme Klub. — Source

29

The McAfrika MCDONALD'S McAfrika CRACKED.COM In 2002, McDonald's Norway took some heat for dropping their unfortunately named, pita-based BLT right smack dab in the middle of a massive famine in Africa. — Source

28

Taco Bell's Cheetos Burrito After their Doritos taco success, maybe this wasn't the dumbest idea. However, it didn't make it past their Cincinnati test market. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

McDonald's Hula Burger The hula burger was a cheeseburger minus the burger, plus grilled pineapple. Made to appeal to Catholics abstainning during Lent, it failed miserably where Filet-O-Fish succeeded. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

Taco Bell's Seafood Salad To compete with the Filet-O-Fish, Taco Bell introduced a seafood salad in the 1980s. Unsurprisingly, it was a complete flop. Salad AND seafood? From Taco Bell? Hard pass. CRACKED.COM — Source

25

Burger King's Bacon Sundae Burger King has not earned our trust with ice cream, let alone experimental ice cream. It was only available for the summer of 2012, a simpler time when bacon was trendy. CRACKED.COM — Source

24

Burger King's Whopperito CLAME Most people look at a Whopper and go, You know what would make this better? If it were a burrito, too. Not all foods need to be a mash-up, but don't tell Burger King, who sold the novelty item to compete with Chipotle. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

Taco Bell's Bell Beefer In the 1970s, Taco Bell introduced its chili burger. Basically a taco but with a bun instead of a shell. As if there weren't enough fast-food burger options, who thought we needed a harder-to-eat attempt? CRACKED.COM — Source

22

McDonald's stopped making spoon-shaped coffee stirrers... x ...because people were using them as cocaine spoons. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

21

Starbucks' door handles are dirtier than NYC subway poles. STARBUCKS COFFEE FARBUCKS 6 COFFEE They were less dirty than CitiBike handlebars, however. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

20

CHIPOTLE NOROVIRUS CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL 3871 GRACKED COM In 2018, Chipotle paid $25 million to resolve criminal charges for serving tainted food. 1,100 people nationwide got food poisoning, and 234 people in Simi Valley, California and 136 in Boston were infected with Norovirus. — Source

19

PINK SLIME CRACKED COM In 2011, Jamie Oliver told us about fast food's leftover beef trimmings treated with ammonium hydroxide, or Pink Slime. The industry lost $400 million in sales, shut down 3 plants, and McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Burger King announced they no longer use pink slime, but the product has been making a comeback in recent years. — Source

18

CHIPOTLE Е. coli OUTBREAKS CHIPOTLE E-COLI MEXICAN GRILL CRACKED.COM In 2007, Kansas City University food safety professor Dr. Douglas Powell warned that Chipotle was a ticking time bomb for a food borne illness outbreak. Не was proven right in 2015 when 55 people contracted Е. coli, and 21 were hospitalized. — Source

17

SUBWAY'S TUNA GRACKED.COM In 2021, multiple tuna samples from Californian Subways found a mixture of various concoctions that does not constitute tuna.The lawsuit included that 20 samples contained chicken, pork or cattle protein. The case was dismissed, but the Judge said that he would allow the plaintiffs to resubmit their complaint. — Source

16

CRACKED BURGER KING'S DEADLY POKEBALLS. BIG KiDS DIC M Charltard To promote 1999's Pokemon: The First Movie, every kids' meal came with a Pokemon figurine in its own Pokeball. The detachable pieces formed airtight seals around children's noses and mouths, and actually killed two small children. — Source

15

CRACKED MCDONALD'S PEDOMETERS. STEP-iT STEP-IT STEP-iT STEP-iT STEP-iT STEP-iT These Step It pedometers found in Happy Meals were a feeble attempt to prove McDonald's cares about health. Maybe they just needed proof that kids don't care about their step or calorie count. — Source

14

CRACKED TGI FRIDAYS' MOBILE MISTLETOE DRONE. In December 2014, a mobile mistletoe drone hovered over patrons to initiate make outs in exchange for prizes. During a demonstration in Brooklyn, a photographer got hit in the face, causing cuts to her chin and the end of her nose to be chipped off. — Source

13

CRACKED CHIPOTLE LIED ABOUT BEING GMO-FREE. They announced that their food was GMO-free in 2015, but their meat and dairy still came from animals fed on GMOs. Chipotle attorneys said, no reasonable consumer would expect that the non-GMO claims would be so strictly applied. — Source

12

CRACKED ON-BALANCE - LELAND VE AD ON BALANCE'S LUNCH TODAY M Pepper M M A CLASS ACTION SUIT FOR FALSE ADVERTISING. A Wendy's commercial food stylist said that she uses undercooked beef to make burgers look plumper, and layers toppings with pins. We all know the visual discrepancy, but in 2022, Wendy's and McDonald's got slapped with a false-advertising suit. — Source

11

CRACKED SUBWAY'S CHICKEN IS HALF THE CHICKEN IT USED TO BE. In 2017, the CBC revealed that chicken from Canadian Subways consists of just 50% chicken DNA. According to the study, the remaining 50% is made of soy fillers. — Source

10

CRACKED M MCDONALD'S BEEFED UP THEIR VEGETABLE OIL. When McDonald's switched from beef fat to vegetable oil to cook their fries, they forgot to mention that the vegetable oil still contained beef products. A lawsuit awarded $10 million to Hindu and vegetarian groups. — Source

9

CRACKED SUBWAY SUBWAY BREAD IS LEGALLY MORE CUPCAKE THAN BREAD. At 10 grams of sugar per foot-long, an Irish judge ruled that the sugar content is too high to be considered bread, and should actually be classified as a confectionary. — Source

8

CRACKED RED LOBSTER'S LOBSTER BISQUE HAD NO LOBSTER. A DNA test on Red Lobster bisques from 3 locations found that 1 had no lobster whatsoever, and 2 had lobster mixed with a mystery crustacean. They found that it was langostino, a cousin of the hermit crab that is commonly used as lobster. — Source

7

CRACKED STARBUCKS' PUMPKIN SPICE WAS A PUMPKIN-LESS POSSIBLE CARCINOGEN. Chemically tested in 2015, the PSL contained no trace of actual pumpkin, and was high in caramel color class IV. Experts debate its link to cancer, but Starbucks played it safe by releasing a new syrup without the chemical (and with actual pumpkin). — Source

6

CRACKED MISFILS BAREBURGER IS FAR FROM 100% ORGANIC. In 2017, Gil Rosenberg witnessed a supply truck delivering meat without the certified organic seal. They boast 100% organic beef, but he got the CEO to admit that the burgers are only 75 to 80% organic. — Source

5

Burger King is banned from operating within 20 miles of Matoon, IL BURGER KING DBCHEESEBURGERS HALF PRICE Coca PRINT Cola A distinct, family-owned Burger King filed a state trademark of the name in 1959, and the court ruled that the international chain can't set up shop near Illinois' one-off Burger King. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

4

Chick-fil-A makes more per store than McDonald's, Starbucks, and Subway Combined All that, and it's closed on Sunday. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

3

Burger King's Where's Herb? ad campaign led to a 40% drop in sales. URGER ING The $40 million campaign rewarded customers who spotted a character named Herb who had never had ВК. Other chains flipped the narrative, pointing out that Herb must have been going to their businesses instead. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

2

Source

Max Hamburgers was the first hamburger restaurant to ever out-compete McDonald's. MAX - CIVIL au SAMRER P The Swedish burger joint has driven several McDonald's out of business in Sweden. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

1

There are no Wendy's in Europe due to trademark issues. Wendy's A Dutch restaurant has owned the name since 1995, and Dutch courts continue to side with the Dutch Wendy's in legal battles. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

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