Two Australian friends - Casey Dean (39) and (38) -- have claimed that in 1995 in their teens, they had ordered a 'Quarter Pounder' with cheese from a McDonald's outlet in Adelaide, when Bill Clinton served as the United States president, according to a report by AFP.
Dean told AFP, "Being teenagers we ordered a truckload of food, and it was just way too much. It started a chain of events where we were joking 'imagine if we kept this forever', and here we are."
Although the burger had slightly shrunk compared to its original size, after almost 30 years, it seems to be perfectly intact without any microbial growth and bad or pungent odour.
The burger which has been dubbed as 'McFossil', has an impressive shelf life even after being locked up most of the time in a cardboard and timber box, when the mercury during summers in Adelaide would touch 30° Celsius.
According to AFP, Dean said, "The rats had actually eaten through the plastic bag, heaps of clothes, got into the box and they'd left the burger." "Our mate was safe."
Calling it their 'mate', the Australian pals grew fond of it are extremely attached to the McFossil, refusing to part with it.
According to the publication, a McDonald's spokesperson said, "The reason why our burgers sometimes don't go mouldy when left out at room temperature, in a dry environment, is that once the food is cooked there isn't enough moisture to support bacterial growth to break it down. Instead, it simply dries out."
An Australian nutrition scientist and accredited practising dietitian, Tim Crowe told ABC that high salt proportions allow the burgers' resistance to decay.
Crowe said, "There is nothing insidious about the content of McDonald's food. It is simply a matter of low moisture and high salt content of the food."
Published 27 May 2024, 06:51 IST