McHaggis? Court Green-Lights Lawsuit Alleging That the McRib Contains Non-Rib Meat
3rd November 2026
Many were excited when McDonald’s recently announced, “The McRib is back.” The question is whether it is really back or really a McRib. In an interesting decision out of Chicago, U.S. District Judge April Perry ruled that McDonald’s must go to trial on a class action lawsuit alleging that the popular McRib sandwich is made with non-rib meat.
The lawsuit alleges that McDonald’s merely shapes the meat to look like ribs but uses shoulder, heart, tripe, or stomach – making it sound more like McHaggis. McDonald’s vehemently denies the accusation and stands by its representation that the only ingredients are “pork, water, salt, dextrose, and rosemary extract.” The class action was filed under an array of tort, fraud, and misrepresentation theories. In the end, however, the impact on McDonald’s could have the same business impact that the “pink slime” stories had on Taco Bell.
The ruling comes just three days after the McRib’s return to McDonald’s menus across the country. It first debuted in 1981.
Serious business!
I know nothing of the McRib sandwich, for fear of discovering that I like it; and, since every restaurant I have frequented has, upon discerning that I like a particular dish, eliminated that choice from their menu, I deemed it a benefit pro bono publico to avoid such popular selections as would cause hate and discontent were I inadvertently to be the cause of their disappearance.