When did McD's stop using beef tallow for fries?

And just what is it that they are using now?

Uh....I don't believe they've EVER used beef tallow. Unless maybe when they first opened, what...50 years ago? 60?

They used to use saturated fat (vegetable oil), now they're using something without trans fats.

This is a complicated issue. McDonalds stopped using tallow at the store level in 1990. But when they switched over vegetable oil at that time, they added some beef "flavor" to the fries at the processing plants where the fries were produced. This resulted in a lawsuit by persons who felt that their religious beliefs were compromised because they did not know or expect beef to be added to the fries at the plants. Plenty of info on the web about this.

I worked at McDonalds in 1985-1986. Junipr year of HS until I went to college. They switched over to beef tallow the Summer of 1986. McD's definately used beef tallow to fry the fries. I spent the summer after I'd finished HS listening to the mostly dissatisfied customers vent their unhappiness with the change. Dang, those were some good tasting fries, before the change. Supposedly not as healthy. But I can't help but remember that people were thinner then than they are now. I grew up, like most kids pre mid 1980's, eating untrimmed beef, higher fat hamburg meat, whole milk, and chicken with the skin on. Far fewer even slightly chubby kids at school then. Let alone the hugely obese ones more common now.