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This Is Why You Should Never Order a Sundae From McDonald's

A former McDonald's employee reveals a scary secret about how the chain makes its classic caramel sundae.

When you think of the most popular menu item at McDonald's, a Big Mac or their world-famous French fries are likely some of the first to come to mind, right? But for those who have a sweet tooth and a soft spot for Mickey D's vanilla soft-serve ice cream, the sundae may be a key part of their go-to order. However, one McDonald's employee may convince you to find a new favorite treat at the chain.

Dessy Joseph, a makeup artist in Brooklyn and former cashier worker at McDonald's, went viral on TikTok last month (jumping from 6,000 followers to over 500,000 in roughly four weeks) for spilling the tea on some secrets about the beloved burger chain—the most jarring of which has to do with the caramel sundae. She reveals in her video, "Secrets I know from working at McDonald's Part 2" that the sauces used for sundaes and shakes such as the hot fudge and caramel are stored in little metal bins at the base of the machine.

@jodessyOkay so everyone is having trouble finding this for some reason. ##mcdonalds ##scerets ##jodessy ##jodessysecrets♬ original sound – jodessy

"Now, the machine gets hot. It heats up you when it's working and then condensation builds," she explains in the video. "Condensation plus tight, closed spaces equals mold. So, there were plenty of occasions where we'd open the thingy and there'd be mold in it and you know what people would do, they would pour the new hot fudge or caramel or whatever on top of the old moldy one and call it a day."

According to an interview she did with Insider, the caramel that's used in the Caramel Frappé is stored in a different manner, so mold shouldn't be a concern. Of course, all of this could just be unique to the McDonald's location she worked at. However, we think it's helpful to know so you avoid ingesting any traces of a potential fungus the next time you go for dessert at your favorite fast-food spot.

For more, check out 15 Secrets McDonald's Employees Don't Want You to Know.

Cheyenne Buckingham
Cheyenne Buckingham is the former news editor of Eat This, Not That! Read more about Cheyenne