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The short version is that the machines' sensors are extremely picky (because the stuff that goes into soft serve is just begging for massive bacterial growth if

The short version is that the machines' sensors are extremely picky (because the stuff that goes into soft serve is just begging for massive bacterial growth if not handled correctly), and McDonald's corporate requires (I'm pretty sure by franchisee contract, not just by the copyright restrictions the article is about) that their specific chosen vendor handles it, even for minor issues. A lot of people like to treat this as a conspiracy, but I think it's much more likely it's the corporate people being paranoid about local franchisees overriding the machines, and that leading to listeria outbreaks happening in the only non-sealed food item that isn't heated to safe temperatures shortly before it's handed off to customers. I don't know about the contrast with Europe, but it might just be geographical size causing time delays for individual techs showing up. McDonald's franchisees are everywhere, and the U.S. is gigantic.

somethoughts 2y ago
I suspect its a probably a combination of abundance of caution based on past bad experiences/lawsuits as well as also being good for margins: The Surprising Reasons Soft-Serve Ice Cream Can Be Dangerous To Eat https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/surprising-reasons-soft-serve-ice-150151493.html https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/surprising-reasons-soft-serv... https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7149927 https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7149927 From 2005: More than 120 people were sickened after eating ice cream at their local McDonald's. The health department says the restaurant's dairy mixture somehow was contaminated with staphylococcus, and a mechanical malfunction in the soft serve machine allowed the bacteria to grow. So many people became so ill, so quickly, the director of the local emergency room told me he at first thought there was some kind of bioterrorism incident in the town.... Nancy Smith says she had taken her grandchildren for an outing, and stopped at McDonald's to buy them a treat. Her grandson Darien had a milkshake, and she says he was violently ill an hour later. He became limp and listless, Smith says, and they rushed him to the hospital, scared to death. Then she got sick. She says she had just three sips of Darien's shake, but it was enough to make her very ill. She told us she was vomiting so violently, she thought she was going to have a heart attack. She's now suing McDonald's, as are many of the other people who got sick in that incident.

somethoughts 2y ago

I suspect its a probably a combination of abundance of caution based on past bad experiences/lawsuits as well as also being good for margins: The Surprising Reasons Soft-Serve Ice Cream Can Be Dangerous To Eat https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/surprising-reasons-soft-serve-ice-150151493.html https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/surprising-reasons-soft-serv... https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7149927 https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7149927 From 2005: More than 120 people were sickened after eating ice cream at their local McDonald's. The health department says the restaurant's dairy mixture somehow was contaminated with staphylococcus, and a mechanical malfunction in the soft serve machine allowed the bacteria to grow. So many people became so ill, so quickly, the director of the local emergency room told me he at first thought there was some kind of bioterrorism incident in the town.... Nancy Smith says she had taken her grandchildren for an outing, and stopped at McDonald's to buy them a treat. Her grandson Darien had a milkshake, and she says he was violently ill an hour later. He became limp and listless, Smith says, and they rushed him to the hospital, scared to death. Then she got sick. She says she had just three sips of Darien's shake, but it was enough to make her very ill. She told us she was vomiting so violently, she thought she was going to have a heart attack. She's now suing McDonald's, as are many of the other people who got sick in that incident.