Your fast-food breakfast sandwich might not be made with the ingredients you think it has. In fact, when you think you're ordering eggs, what you're really getting are "egg products"—eggs that are removed from their shells and then processed.
According to a new report published by Fox Business this week, there are several major fast-food chains that don't use "real" whole eggs. The media outlet cited the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS), which says that food manufacturers will use pasteurized egg products "because of their convenience and ease in handling and storing." According to the government agency, processing egg products includes "breaking eggs, filtering, mixing, stabilizing, blending, pasteurizing, cooling, freezing, or drying, and packaging."
The report additionally names names, aka calls out the places that use these impostor eggs, as well as several major fast-food players that actually fulfill their egg promise with real whole eggs.
If you're thinking about stopping by Starbucks or Dunkin' to pick up a breakfast sandwich, you'll want to note that the eggs they serve don't fall within the aforementioned definition of real whole eggs. Specifically, Starbucks egg-based menu items do contain eggs, but Fox Business reports that these menu items also contain additives like water, soybean oil, modified food starch, whey solids, and citric acid.
The same goes for Dunkin', which also sells egg items made with additives like water, modified corn starch, xanthan gum, and citric acid, according to Fox Business.
Other major breakfast players that don't serve whole eggs, as highlighted in the report, include Chick-fil-A, Subway, and Burger King. However, there is some positive news for fast-food fans, as Chick-fil-A has pledged to source 100% cage-free eggs by 2026, while Subway says it's "on track to source 100% cage free eggs in North America by the end of 2025."
But onto the positives of the report: McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Whataburger, and Panera Bread are the biggies that will serve you whole eggs. There are a couple of caveats, though. Fox noted that not all of Panera's breakfast items seem to contain freshly cracked eggs, with some being made with pasteurized eggs or liquid whole eggs.
Additionally, while McDonald's uses real eggs, its egg-based menu items are all prepared in different ways. The fast-food chain states on its website that the round egg patties found on its iconic Egg McMuffin are made with USDA Grade A eggs that are cracked into an "egg ring." However, the chain's scrambled eggs and folded eggs, like the ones you'll see on a Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit are made with liquid eggs that are pre-cooked and folded before they're flash frozen.