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Well, it’s that time of year again when McDonald’s rolls out its venerable
McRib sandwich. Tens of millions of Americans will purchase one – or, judging by the nation’s ever-widening belt line, several – but most will do so without knowing all they should know about this popular sandwich.

Besides high caloric content, there are several other reasons why you should avoid the McRib, a boneless pork product smothered in BBQ sauce that famously resembles a rack of ribs, as much as you avoid most of the other “delicacies” served by this fast-food behemoth. In addition, The Blaze reports, there are several “fun facts” about the sandwich you may not have known:

A sandwich ‘built’ from scratch?: The McRib is a product of Rene Arend, who came up with the idea and design of the sandwich. That said, Richard Mandigo, a professor from the University of Nebraska, who developed the “restructured meat product” that the McRib is actually made of.

According to Chicago magazine, citing a 1995 article by Mandigo, “restructured meat product” is described thusly:

Restructured meat products are commonly manufactured by using
lower-valued meat trimmings reduced in size by comminution (flaking, chunking, grinding, chopping or slicing). The comminuted meat mixture is mixed with salt and water to extract salt-soluble proteins. These extracted proteins are critical to produce a “glue” which binds muscle pieces together. These muscle pieces may then be reformed to produce a “meat log” of specific form or shape. The log is then cut into steaks or chops which, when cooked, are similar in appearance and texture to their intact muscle counterparts. … Such products as tripe, heart, and scalded stomachs are high in protein, completely edible, wholesome, and nutritious, and most are already used in sausage without objection.

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