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There are plenty of fast food diehards who eagerly await the return of the limited-edition sandwich known as the McRib. However, McDonald’s has a lawsuit on its hands courtesy of some people who’ve accused the chain of misrepresenting the contents of the cult favorite.
McDonald’s has routinely tinkered with the menu that was initially rolled out when its first outpost opened in California in 1940, and in 1981, it introduced a new offering in the form of the McRib.
The sandwich featured a pork patty that was slathered in barbecue sauce and topped with pickles and onions, and it had a four-year run in the United States before it was discontinued.
However, it’s been repeatedly resurrected over the decades, as McDonald’s has historically taken advantage of low pork prices to revive the McRib while hyping up its return with multiple marketing campaigns that have asserted it’s set to disappear for good before the cycle begins anew.
The McRib has developed a devoted following to the point where there’s a website devoted to keeping tabs on its status. It was only offered on a regional basis in 2025 following a nationwide rollout ahead of the holiday season in 2024, and there’s no telling when people across America will be able to get their fix again.
However, it’s still managing to make headlines after attracting the ire of some unhappy consumers.
McDonald’s pushed back against a lawsuit that claims the McRib doesn’t actually contain any rib meat
The McRib would be called the “McRestructured Pork Patty” if McDonald’s was being transparent about what you were signing up to eat when you order one.
It was the creation of a meat scientist named Roger Mandigo and former executive chef Rene Arend, who harnessed the same method of repurposing meat scraps that was used to create the McNuggets that were introduced a couple of years after the McRib was first unleashed upon the world.
I feel like most people who order the sandwich are aware they are not getting the most premium cuts of pork, but according to USA Today, four people listed as the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit that was recently filed in Illinois claim they felt misled to the point where they felt the need to take McDonald’s to federal court.
The filing, which was entered into the record on December 23rd, asserts “the McRib does not contain any actual pork rib meat at all” but rather “lower-grade pork products such as … pork shoulder, heart, tripe, and scalded stomach” fashioned into the signature rack-shaped patty.
McDonald’s issued a statement to push back against the lawsuit that accuses it of engaging in “deceptive naming, marketing and advertising practices,” saying:
“We’re committed to using real, quality ingredients across our entire menu.
Our fan-favorite McRib sandwich is made with 100% pork sourced from farmers and suppliers across the U.S. We’ve always been transparent about our ingredients so guests can make the right choice for them.”
If you’re curious, the McDonald’s website has an ingredients list for the patty that says it contains “pork, water, salt, dextrose, [and] rosemary extract,” although it does not specify exactly what cuts of pork are harnessed.
The lawsuit seeks “compensatory damages, restitution, and injunctive relief,” but we’ll have to wait and see if a judge thinks there’s any merit.