From its crispy, cinnamon-drizzled outer layer to its warm and sweet, crushed-apple-filled inside, it’s no wonder why McDonald’s Baked Hot Apple Pie has been a popular mainstay on its international menus for years. The item, a baked miniature pastry, comes in a compact box and is one of the most iconic Dollar Menu foods the chain has.
As delicious as it is, many health experts have pointed out its high sugar content and lack of essential nutrients (despite having apples as a main ingredient). Now, as Eat This, Not That reports, there are several questionable ingredients revealed in the popular apple pie that are the antithesis of appealing.
To increase the pliability of the dough in its apple pie, McDonald's, uses L-cysteine, an amino acid. According to The Vegetarian Resource Group, a common source of this is duck feathers. (Yes, you read that right, ick!) Prior to using duck feathers, the group writes, L-cysteine has also been sourced from human hair.
Although L-cysteine is "considered a substance that is generally recognized as safe by the Food and Drug Administration," it's still something to think about.
Apart from these strange ingredients, the apple pie has 230 calories per 1 serving and is high in both sodium and sugar, so there really aren't any reasons to eat this for your health. Plus, making apple pie from scratch always allows you to know exactly what is in it!
