TikTok commenters are falsely claiming Wendy’s is using lab-grown chicken. While the chicken may not be lab-grown, a TikToker showed it does have a considerably different texture after being microwaved.
In a popular TikTok video, Aaron Taylor (@aarontaylor241) explained that his mom went to buy a chicken sandwich from Wendy’s earlier that day, and by the time she got around to eating it, she wanted to reheat it in the microwave.
Turns out that putting it in the microwave completely changed the texture of the chicken patty. “This is what it did,” Taylor says.
@aarontaylor241 ♬ original sound – Aaron Taylor
In the video, Taylor shows that the reheated chicken looks inflated, hollowed out, and to have a paper mache-like texture on the inside underneath the breading.
“Nothing was taken ut of this. Coming out of the microwave this is what a Wendy’s chicken sandwich [looks like],” Taylor said.
The video has more than 60,000 views and over 300 comments.
While the top comment in the video claimed that the meat must have been lab-grown or otherwise modified, The Daily Dot recently debunked a similar claim about a McDonald’s burger.
While lab-grown meat does exist, and multiple startups are trying to increase the speed at which it can be produced, it is not yet readily available to consumers or companies that would need to purchase it in mass quantities.
There are at least 100 other startups aiming to recreate other animal proteins, including beef, pork, lamb, and fish. However, the only lab-grown meat companies with approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture are Upside Foods and Good Meat. Both companies sell lab-grown chicken.
The U.S. is only the second country after Singapore to approve lab-grown meat for consumers, Reuters reported. Due to the still high price and slow process of growing the meat, the companies’ chicken is initially being sold to high-end restaurants until they advance their process, supply chain, and scale to lower their prices.
One person said that no matter how good the lab-grown meat technology gets, they’re so off-put by it all that they’re likely going back to being vegetarian.
“I’m over this crap. i am going back to being a vegetarian. Meat is bad whether it’s lab grown or animals being slaughtered,” a commenter said.
Others said they’ve had similar experiences with premade or packaged foods.
“had that happen to nuggets bought from Walmart also!!” a person said.
“I got a baked potato from Wendy’s. it had stringy looking things all through it,” another wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to Taylor via TikTok comment and to Wendy’s via email for comment.
