Not sure where it comes from but it tastes like it comes from a paper mill or Elmer's paste factory. Their fries on the other hand, taste like they come from heaven-at least the last time I had them about 22 years ago. It was 2004 at a McDonalds in Nice, France-on the Promenade des Anglais in fact. I wanted to see if the fries tasted the same there as they did in Reno NV and pretty much any Mickey D's here in the states. Sure enough, they tasted perfect like they do here.
EDIT: McD's Beef is claimed to be 100%.
Ingredients: The patty is 100% beef, seasoned with salt and pepper only on the grill.
Cuts: The beef comes from various cuts, including chuck, round, and sirloin.
No additives: McDonald's states that its patties do not contain fillers, additives, or preservatives.
Processing: The company specifies that it does not use "pink slime" (lean, finely textured beef treated with ammonia).
Source: The beef is inspected by the USDA, and a single burger can contain meat from multiple cows.
I suspect the difference is frozen meat patties, most things lose flavor when frozen.....less so if flash frozen But no matter, frozen beef taste different than never frozen beef. SO what they put on it buffers that.
Culver's and Wendy's uses never frozen beef. SO if you compared A & B, you'd notice.
What's in McDs fries?
Ingredients
Potatoes:
A blend of varieties like Russet Burbank, Umatilla Russet, Shepody, and Ranger Russet are used, sourced mostly from the U.S. and Canada.
Vegetable Oil Blend:
The oil used for frying contains canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, and hydrogenated soybean oil.
Dextrose:
A type of sugar that is added to help the fries maintain a consistent golden color.
Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate:
This is added to keep the potatoes from turning gray and also helps preserve their texture.
Salt:
This is added after the fries are cooked.
Natural Beef Flavor:
In the U.S., a "natural beef flavor" is added to the oil. According to McDonald's, this contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk to mimic the taste of the beef tallow they used to use.
Other Additives:
Some recipes also include ingredients like citric acid, tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), dimethylpolysiloxane, and annatto.