According to Haracz, an employee’s refusal to mix a drink could be due to compliance with food service guidelines. In 2018, the United States Food and Drug Administration began to require all chain restaurants with 20 or more locations to label their menus with the calorie contents of each item. With over 13,500 locations in the United States (not to mention the thousands more around the globe), this law certainly applies to McDonald’s. To date, the chain includes a calorie count on every item on its menu, including beverages.
Each drink comes with its own nutritional profile. For instance, a medium-sized Frozen Fanta Blue Raspberry contains 80 calories, and a medium Coca-Cola contains 210 calories. Mixing these beverages would keep customers from knowing exactly how many calories a cup contains.
Haracz also points out that some McDonald’s locations have already transitioned to automated drink dispenser machines behind the counters, which would make mixing drinks a difficult task. Earlier this year, McDonald’s announced its goal of transitioning away from self-service drink machines by 2032, with one of the reasons being that the new, automatic machines can boost service efficiency. However, they leave little to no room for customization.