Updated

Most people know that eating too much McDonald’s is not good for them, but a consumer experiment on a Happy Meal shows just how many preservatives are in the fast-food meals.

Sally Davies bought a Happy Meal 171 days ago, and left it out, unrefrigerated. Six months later, it looks almost exactly as it did the day it was purchased, with no signs of mold or decay, The Daily Mail reported.

Davies, 54, of New York City, kept close documentation of the hamburger and French fries, taking photos of the food regularly. She said even her dogs lost interest in trying to eat the McDonald’s.

Davies is a vegan, and did the experiment with the intention of seeing what happened to the food as it aged.

As weeks turned into months, the only visible changes were that the burger patty and some fries shrunk in size.

“And now, at six months old, the food is plastic to the touch and has an acrylic sheen to it,” she said. “The only change that I can see is that it has become hard as a rock.”

A spokeswoman from McDonald’s shot down the allegations saying, “This is nothing more than an outlandish claim and is completely false.”

However, this is not the first time McDonald’s has been under fire for the lifespan of their food.
Joann Bruso, of Denver, left a Happy Meal out for a whole year in 2009 with similar results.

Click here to read more from The Daily Mail.