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A couple of years back, RocketNews24 put out a story on how McDonald’s has been skimping on their servings of French fries. Now that the Japanese branches have added a new mega size to the menu, some of the good people at Japan’s Gold Rush decided to run their own little test of whether or not today’s hungry fry lovers are getting what they pay for. What they discovered may mean better things for the body, but is nonetheless quite disheartening.

The official numbers state that Japan’s new mega fries at McDonald’s contain 350 grams of starchy goodness. That’s more than twice the amount that’s supposed to come in a large order of fries! Now, RocketNews24 has already uncovered a trend that McDonald’s fries weigh in at far less than they should. To summarize our findings, medium portions are supposed to contain 135 grams of food but only averaged out to 130 grams in our study, while large sizes measured an average of 160 grams, instead of the official standard of 170!

Still, we hoped that this mega size serving would give us at least double the average large size fare. Sure, 320 grams of salty potatoes is a far cry from the advertised amount, but sounds like a full, if unhealthy, meal!

So what was the verdict?

In reality, mega fries clock in at 299 grams per carton. Subtracting the weight of the packaging, they recorded only 282 grams worth of potato. That’s 70 grams less than the amount that was advertised! The amount of fries contained in their order was closer to two medium servings than two large ones!

Now, before we all get too upset over this lack of empty calories, let’s take a look at the prices. The cost of one mega fry is 490 yen (US$4.87). The cost of an order of medium fries is 250 yen ($2.48). This means that even though the Gold Rush team only got as many fries as one would expect to find in two medium servings, they still got a deal by ordering the mega. Sure, it’s not nearly the amount of fries that was advertised, but it’s better than ordering two of any smaller size, right?

We should also mention the study conducted by Gold Rush only measured only one order of mega fries. The store closest to you might be much more generous with their servings. Personally, I think it’s time I conducted my own study. Ten orders of mega fries sounds like enough to start with!

Source: Gold Rush via Jin115 (Japanese)

▼ How disappointing…

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▼ Subtract the weight of the carton for an even more upsetting number.

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▼ I thought fries were finger food, but I guess chopsticks work too…

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