McDonald's Ice Cream Contain Deadly Sugar Alcohol Toxic to Dogs - a claim that has been doing rounds on social media since the past few days has raised concerns among consumers. The viral rumor that Xylitol, which is a sugar alcohol toxic and even deadly if fed to dogs has been shared over a thousand times on Facebook and other social media platforms.
"I am waiting for a reply from McDonald's to confirm...Pet warning! It is being posted that McDonald's has added Xylitol to their ice cream.... Xylitol is deadly to dogs! Please use caution until it is confirmed or denied," the viral Facebook post read.
Another post that showed McDonald's ice cream linked to xylitol, also known as birch or wood sugar, featured on social media as a screenshot with the text that read, "Just so everyone knows. McDonalds ice cream has xylitol sugar in it. Don't feed any of their ice cream to your pets. Xylitol sugar is toxic to dogs and will kill them in a hour Please..."
Though International Business Times has not directly contacted McDonald's, fact checking website, Snopes.com, has reached out to the food giant regarding the ingredients in McDonald's Ice Cream. "We contacted McDonald's corporate communications team and shared the social media rumor about the company's ice cream, xylitol, and dogs. We will update this story once we receive a response," the site wrote.
Meanwhile, if we take a look at the ingredients in all desserts of McDonald's U.S. website, there's no mention of xylitol as being present in any of the company's products. Moreover, there's no evidence that backs the viral Facebook post about the presence of xylitol in the ice creams served at McDonalds.
Reports suggest that xylitol is a sugar alcohol that is actually dangerous for dogs. Even The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) had earlier published that it is a "serious concern" if dogs ingests products containing xylitol.
What is Xylitol?
Xylitol, which is most commonly found in food products is a sweetener. It can also be found in other consumer goods, as per reports. Xylitol can be dangerous for dogs, but, it is not a serious in case of cats.
The reason why xylitol is dangerous for dogs, is that the substance causes low blood sugar, liver injury.
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