If you’ve ever eaten a succulent McDonald’s beef burger and wondered where the beef comes from, you can rest assured it’s sourced from the best.

Let’s meet the Fouries, some of the farmers who are responsible for supplying the beef for these meaty favourites.

The Fourie Vennootskap farm, established in 1911 by Matthys Fourie, has a rich history spanning four generations. Despite facing numerous challenges in the early years, Matthys worked tirelessly to lay the foundations for a successful family business in cattle farming.

In 1947, the family started dairy farming with Red Polled X Afrikaners cows, supplying milk to the cheese factory in Reivilo. By 1963, they had shifted their focus to meat production.

Thys Jnr joined the team in 1970 as the third-generation Fourie and pushed to expand the infrastructure. He also played a key role in improving the genetic makeup of the herd. In the mid-1980s, he recognised a demand for high-quality commercial breeding stock, which led to the first annual production sale of 300 heifers eight years later.

Market trends prompted a reconsideration of the breed, which resulted in their decision to replace the Afrikaner/Hereford bulls with Brahman/Simmentaler bulls – they bought their first Brahman and Simmentaler bulls in 1992.

Jans, the fourth generation of the Fouries, joined the family business in 2000.

Jans strongly believes that when you give a farm 100% of your love, it will give you 100% back.

Today, the Fouries are among many of the free-range beef suppliers for McDonald’s, who are committed to ethical and sustainable farming practices.

Cattle are raised primarily on independently owned family farms, like Fourie Vennootskap, where they spend most of their lives grazing in feedlots. When properly managed, feedlots give cattle access to a constant supply of food and clean water.

These feedlots are specially designed to ensure the cattle engage in natural behaviours. It also allows farmers to monitor them frequently, ensuring they are always well-cared for, comfortable, and most importantly, healthy.

McDonald’s uses only approved suppliers within its supply chain. All suppliers must undergo external, third-party food safety audits. The humane treatment of animals is extremely important; standards and policies include critical requirements for the well-being of the animals, such as adequate feed, water and safe air quality.

All beef suppliers are routinely audited by independent, third-party auditors to ensure health and safety compliance.

Traceability within the supply chain is crucial. Thanks to the rigorous quality control process, it’s possible to trace all burger patties back to a specific production batch at the plant, which means only the highest quality beef reaches customers.

Big Mac hamburgers are made with 100% South African certified pure ground beef, and the cuts of meat used include shoulder, chuck, brisket, rib eye and loin. This meat is ground into beef mince and then shaped into hamburger patties. The only extra ingredients added are a dash of salt and pepper for seasoning.

The patties are frozen to a temperature of -18°C to preserve their quality and lock in freshness. The reason they look pale is because they are flash-frozen – this dehydrates a thin layer on the surface, which causes the meat to turn pale quickly. The hamburger patties are kept frozen until they’re ready to be grilled to perfection.

Over 113 years, the Fouries have learnt that adaptability is the key to successful cattle farming. And their best-kept secret? Love.

McDonald’s is confident about the quality of food served and makes sure all beef is ethically and sustainably farmed and sourced.