Potatoes, oil, and salt, are really the only ingredients needed to make tasty French fries. However, fast food fries often contain many additional ingredients to assist with texture, color retention, and for various other reasons.
Wendy’s French fries are no exception to containing numerous ingredients. Here you will learn about the ingredients in these fries including if they have dairy.
Is There Dairy in Wendy’s French Fries?
Wendy’s French fries do not have dairy ingredients. However, Wendy’s warns that its fries are cooked in the same oil as menu items containing allergens such as milk (dairy), wheat, fish, egg, soy, and sesame.
In other words, you may consume trace amounts of dairy even though the fries do not officially have dairy ingredients. Some people may wish to avoid eating Wendy’s French fries based on the potential of dairy cross-contamination.
Wendy’s French Fries Ingredients: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Soybean, Canola, and/or Cottonseed Oils), Modified Food Starch (Potato, Corn, Tapioca), Rice Flour, Dextrin, Salt, Pea Starch, Leavening (Disodium Dihydrogen Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Dextrose, Xanthan Gum, Disodium Dihydrogen Pyrophosphate (To Promote Color Retention). Cooked In Vegetable Oil (Soybean Oil, Vegetable Oil [May Contain One Or More Of The Following: Canola, Corn, Or Cottonseed], Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Dimethylpolysiloxane [Anti-Foaming Agent]). Seasoned With Sea Salt.
Other Fast Food French Fries & Dairy
Most popular fast food French fries do not have added dairy in them as shown in the table below. An exception is McDonald’s fries, which have dairy in their flavoring.
However, while most French fries do not contain dairy ingredients, they may be fried in shared oil where other menu items containing dairy or other food allergens are fried in that same oil as the fries.
Furthermore, consider all the foods with dairy at fast food restaurants and the possibility of these foods inadvertently coming into contact with non-dairy menu items such as fries. While this might seem like over-the-top thinking, it is certainly an important factor for people highly sensitive/allergic to dairy, vegans, and others.
| French Fries | Dairy Ingredients |
|---|---|
| McDonald’s | Yes |
| Burger King | No |
| Arby’s – Crinkle Fries | No |
| White Castle | No |
| Culver’s – Crinkle Cut Fries | No |
| KFC – Secret Recipe Fries | No |
| Popeyes Cajun Fries | No |
| Sonic | No |
| In-N-Out | No |
| DQ | No |
| Shake Shack Regular Fried | No |
| Five Guys | No |
Final Thoughts
Ingredients in fast food sometimes change which may alter the allergens in the food. Please use the restaurants’ ingredient and allergen information for the most accurate and up-to-date information. The information above is for general educational purposes only. The restaurant should be used as the ultimate source to determine the current ingredients/food allergens in its food.
Since cross-contamination is a risk with fast food, you may wish to avoid it altogether if allergens are a concern for you. If potentially consuming traces amounts of dairy or other allergens is not a concern for you, feel free to enjoy Wendy’s French fries.
Sources:
wendys.com
image credit – punctuated/flickr
