Los Angeles: Every day inside an unassuming building on the outskirts of Oklahoma City, thousands of hamburgers are run through metal detectors on their way to becoming Big Macs and Quarter Pounders.
The detectors, along with hourly tasting tests of burger and sausage patties made at the plant and five-hour-long nightly cleanups, are just a few of the food quality and safety measures McDonald's Corp. requires of its suppliers.
And the company wants its customers to know it.
McDonald's on Monday will kick off a two-day media event to tout the quality of its food and combat critics who say its burgers and fries are unhealthy.
New print ads tout McDonald's "top quality USDA eggs" and "high quality chicken", and the company already has a Balanced Lifestyles initiative to promote physical activity.
The company recognizes it is often criticized, "Because we are the biggest and the best, some people like to take shots at us," JC Gonzalez-Mendez, head of McDonald's US supply chain said.
High-profile attacks on McDonald's in recent years, such as the 2004 film, "Super Size Me," have accused the company of contributing to obesity problems in the US.
Products like the Big Mac contain 30 grams of fat, which is equal to about half the government's recommended daily amount.
Burger business
One of the myths Gonzalez-Mendez said the new campaign aims to eradicate is the perception that McDonald's burgers are filled with additives.
Opening up its suppliers' facilities to the media is one of the ways McDonald's is trying to be more transparent about where its food comes from.
Next week, McDonald's will add a feature to its Web site that will allow visitors to track how each ingredient in popular products like the Egg McMuffin are sourced.
In recent months, the company has also allowed customers behind the counter at restaurants in Europe and Asia so they can see how the food is prepared and what it is made from.
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