A post shared on Facebook claims the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found evidence of horse meat in fast food chain Wendy’s beef patties. 

Verdict: False

There is no evidence of any FDA inspection discovering horse meat in Wendy’s food. The quote attributed to the alleged Wendy’s CEO featured in the post is fabricated.

Fact Check:

The Facebook post, shared over 290 times, features an edited image of a horse with its lower half molded into the shape of a meat grinder. A Wendy’s logo is visible in a corner of the image.

“Nashville, TN – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has report that during inspection of Wendy’s traces of equine (Horse) DNA strains were found,” reads text included in the image. Additional text goes on to quote Wendy’s Chief Executive Office Boris” as saying “We only use about 60% beef, the rest is made of meat fillers mostly equine(horse) meat.”

These claims are false. There are no press releases on the FDA’s official website or verified social media accounts about any investigation discovering traces of horse meat in Wendy’s food. There are likewise no credible news reports suggesting such a discovery has been made. (RELATED: Did Burger King Admit To Using Horse Meat?)

Wendy’s verified Twitter account has repeatedly denied the claims as far back as 2015. The company has also never had a CEO named “Boris.” The current CEO is Todd A. Penegor, who has served as the company’s CEO and president since 2016, according to the official Wendy’s website. There is no record of Penegor making any such statement about horse meat being used in the fast food chain’s food. 

Wendy’s claims on its website that all of its burgers are made from 100 percent “pure beef.” Check Your Fact reached out to the company for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.