Is McDonald‘s Fish Real in 2024? (Your Full Guide)

McDonald‘s has faced ongoing speculation about whether the ingredients in some of its food items are truly real and authentic components. This is understandable – when you can get a full meal in just minutes at a fast food restaurant, it does prompt questions around how real and fresh the foods are. In 2024, many customers specifically wonder: is the fish served at McDonald‘s actually real fish?

McDonald‘s Relies on Strict Sustainability Standards

The good news is that McDonald‘s does serve real fish – it simply holds its fish suppliers to extremely high standards. According to McDonald‘s own published sustainability policies, 100% of all fish sold at its restaurants must come from sustainable, certified sources:

"McDonald’s has maintained a commitment to source fish only from fisheries that are certified sustainable by recognized global organizations since 2005 in Europe and 2013 in the U.S."

This allows McDonald‘s to provide real fish while protecting the environment and future fish stocks. For example, the company works closely with non-profits like Conservation International to choose suppliers with minimal impacts on marine life.

By only permitting suppliers adhering to top-tier sustainability certifications, McDonald‘s can vet that its fish is authentic, responsibly-caught, and traceable back to strict sustainability standards. This is a key reason customers can rely on the legitimacy of McDonald‘s fish in 2024 and beyond.

Over 1 Million Metric Tons of Sustainably-Sourced Alaska Pollock Sold Per Year

The main fish species McDonald‘s uses is wild-caught Alaska Pollock – a white fish found abundantly in Alaska‘s Northern Pacific waters. McDonald‘s sustainability model has helped the Alaska Pollock fishery become one of the world‘s most reliably sustainable sources of fish.

In fact, over 1 million metric tons of Alaska Pollock is sold globally each year, with McDonald‘s being a top customer demanding responsible fishing. McDonald‘s alone uses:

• 16-25 million pounds yearly in the U.S.
• 35-45 million pounds yearly in Europe

This volume would not be possible without McDonald‘s consistently verifying its supply chain only permits certified sustainable Alaska Pollock.

In essence – McDonald‘s buys so much Alaska Pollock yearly that it would be impossible for this level of demand to be met without verifiably legitimate, high-quality fish. The company‘s sustainability audits on fishing practices and traceability confirm its fish is authentic.

Suppliers Transform Alaska Pollock Into McDonald‘s Fish Products

Once responsibly caught, McDonald‘s approved suppliers take the raw Alaska Pollock and transform it into the fish products served in McDonald‘s global restaurants. Some details on the process:

• Pollock is caught in the Northern Pacific then instantly frozen on boats to preserve freshness
• Frozen fish is shipped to facilities for cleaning, cutting into portions, and shaping into fish patties or fillets
• Formed fish products are kept frozen until distribution to McDonald‘s locations
• Stores safely thaw fish as needed and fry fish products to order

By outsourcing processing to verified suppliers, McDonald‘s can ensure raw fish traceability is maintained through every production stage before fish items arrive at restaurants. This end-to-end cold chain helps McDonald‘s confidently stand behind its fish sources.

Fish Frying Uses Vegetable Oil Blend

When a customer orders a Filet-O-Fish or other fish item, McDonald‘s restaurants fry the previously frozen fish patties or fillets on-demand to fill the order freshly made.

McDonald‘s uses its standard vegetable oil blend for frying. As restaurants cook other items like chicken and fries in this oil, it confirms some cross-contact does occur between products:

By frying in potent yet inexpensive vegetable oils instead of other methods, McDonald‘s achieves the speedy service times it is recognized for. Still, vegetarians should be aware trace amounts of meat or fish may appear in this shared fryer oil.

Continued Commitment to Credible Ingredients

McDonald‘s states it recognizes customers expect menu offerings to contain genuinely advertised ingredients – including for its fish items:

"We know that customers expect what’s advertised on the menu is what they get at McDonald’s…We remain committed to our food and to our customers."

Hopefully this inside look at McDonald‘s approach to responsible, sustainable seafood provides reassurance its fish is authentic. With rigorous standards enforced across the supply chain, McDonald‘s stands by the quality and origins of fish sold in 2024 and beyond.

Of course, customers with lingering concerns around food contents should contact McDonald‘s customer service line or email form, both provided on their website. McDonald‘s states its customer care team will be happy to address any outstanding food questions.