"Yes, Wendy's uses fresh, never frozen beef on every hamburger, every day. You'll notice those two asterisks there. Those are there for Hawaii, the only state where you can't get one of those famous square burgers fresh instead of frozen. Head to the bottom of that Wendy's page and you'll see this disclaimer next to the two asterisks: Fresh beef available in the contiguous U.S. and Alaska, as well as Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the U.K., and other select international markets."
"Back in 2007, the Honolulu Advertiser reported that Wendy's did not use fresh beef at any locations on the islands. The reason given was that supplying fresh beef here would make it difficult to sell the made-to-order old-fashioned hamburgers at reasonable, quick-service prices."
"Hawaii imports the vast majority of its food from the mainland, and that includes meat. That's why it's one of the two states that spend the most on groceries. The state can't grow or even store large quantities of food, and, as a result, the islands only have about a seven-day supply on hand at any given time. Because frozen beef has a much longer shelf life than fresh beef, it's not just easier for restaurants to use frozen rather than fresh. It's the most practical option."
Wendy's markets its burgers using fresh, never-frozen beef as a key differentiator, prominently featuring this claim on its official website. However, the claim includes asterisks directing readers to a disclaimer revealing that fresh beef is unavailable in Hawaii. Since 2007, Wendy's has used frozen beef in Hawaii because supplying fresh beef would make quick-service burgers unaffordably expensive. Hawaii's geographic isolation requires importing most food from the mainland, maintaining only a seven-day supply. Frozen beef's longer shelf life makes it the practical choice for Hawaiian restaurants compared to fresh beef's shorter viability.
Read at Tasting Table
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]