Fresh Start

McDonald’s Flips to Fresh Beef in Its Quarter Pounders

Aiming for better taste, as millennials stream away from the Golden Arches.

McDonald’s will introduce actual fresh beef patties instead of frozen ones in its burgers at 14,000 U.S. locations in the next few weeks, after successfully testing fresh beef in Quarter Pounders at 3,500 restaurants. The move to fresh meat is the latest effort by McDonald’s to upgrade the quality of its menu, as millennial customers have streamed away from the fast-food giant: “McDonald’s is a burger company and there is no better place to start than with our burgers,” Chris Kempczinski, president of McDonald’s U.S., told reporters ahead of the announcement. The move will be good news for impatient drive-thru customers, as fresh beef Quarter Pounder patties cook 20 to 40 seconds faster than a frozen patty, according to McDonald’s.