McDonald's says most burgers now free from artificial preservatives, flavors, colors

CHICAGO (AP) - Following years of reformulating at McDonald's, the company announced that seven of its burgers are now preservative-free.

As of Wednesday, the world's largest burger chain the changes have been applied to their: hamburger, cheeseburger, double cheeseburger, McDouble, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, double Quarter Pound with Cheese and Big Mac.

They also have reformulated buns and sauces. Pickles on the sandwiches still contain artificial preservatives, but customers can request sandwiches without pickles.

They said the problematic ingredients were American cheese, Big Mac Special Sauce and some buns. McDonald's said they removed sorbic acide from the American cheese; potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate and calcium disodium EDTA from the special sauce; and calcium propionate from the regular bun, Quarter Pounder bun, and the Big Mac Bun.

McDonald's has been gradually removing preservatives from its menu for several years in an effort to appeal to more health-conscious buyers. In 2016, it removed high-fructose corn syrup from its buns and took artificial preservatives out of its Chicken McNuggets.

The Chicago-based company says around one-third of its sandwiches still have artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, including Egg McMuffins and Filet-O-Fish. It hasn't set a timeline for removing those ingredients.