A teenage boy’s McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burger ordered 30 years ago remains remarkably intact, setting a longevity record in the fast-food history and being hailed as a “legend” worldwide.
The Quarter Pounder burger, known as the “four-ounce beef burger” or the “foot-three liang” in Chinese, features a patty made with a quarter-pound of beef.
According to a report by Fox News, the story dates back to November 1995 in Adelaide, South Australia. Teenagers Eduards Nits and Casey Dean ordered McDonald’s after winning a band competition. Nits decided to save Dean’s uneaten Quarter Pounder burger as a joke after Dean expressed not finishing it.
Dean recalled jokingly saying, “Imagine if we saved it forever,” and they actually did.
Initially, Nits’s mother urged him to discard the burger, but he kept it hidden in a box. Over the years, it became a part of the Nits family life, even being taken to school by Nits’s mother who is a teacher to show her students.
The four-ounce beef burger has spent the past 30 years without refrigeration. It has been stored in cabinets, garbage bags, sheds, and even moved across Australia with Nits’s sister, sticking around in the family’s possessions.
Dean mentioned on the burger’s 30th “birthday” that the “senior burger” still remains “miraculously intact.” It is still wrapped in the original McDonald’s beige wax paper from the 1990s.
Despite this, the texture and appearance of the burger have changed slightly. Nits noted, “The only thing that has changed is its size has shrunk.” The burger has completely hardened, but surprisingly, it has not developed any smell or mold.
Dean and Nits have shared this story on television, podcasts, and social media platforms, garnering attention from popular American podcaster Joe Rogan and initiating a live YouTube broadcast showcasing the oldest McDonald’s beef burger.
Nits insisted, “It is no longer food; it looks like a piece of art.”
This story is not unique. Cases of McDonald’s burgers preserved for decades without rotting have also been reported in Utah and Texas in the United States. After a Texas grandmother Melana Monroe’s burger story went viral on TikTok, McDonald’s had to step in to clarify:
McDonald’s clarified that the reason the burger did not rot over the years is not because of chemical preservatives or additives but because the food dehydrated in a dry, waterless environment.
The company explained that during the dehydration process, the burger bun and patty lose moisture, effectively preventing mold and bacteria growth, thus achieving long-term preservation.
McDonald’s emphasized that their burgers are made with 100% USDA-inspected beef and contain “no preservatives or fillers,” with only a little salt and pepper added during grilling. Experts also confirmed that dehydration, high salt content, and the smaller size of the burger collectively contribute to this “legend.”