Dairy Queen has been the go-to ice cream place for a lot of people for years, but there are some things the fast food chain would rather you not know. Some of these secrets are as simple as the recipe for their soft serve, while others will make them come off as a bit sketchy. Sure, Blizzards are delicious, especially when they have your favorite candy available, but you might not want to look at the calorie count. From the food poisoning issues to the truth about whether it's actually ice cream, let's take a look at some sketchy secrets Dairy Queen doesn't want you to know.
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00:00For many American kids, one of the best things about summer afternoons growing up was the
00:04celebratory trip to Dairy Queen.
00:06Those perfectly formed cones and blizzards filled with all sorts of goodness.
00:11All was right with the world.
00:12But DQ is definitely hiding some secrets, and it's entirely possible your family wouldn't
00:17have taken you there if they knew some of the following facts.
00:20Not ice cream
00:21Sure, you call it ice cream, and we're not going to tell you to stop.
00:25We will tell you that you're not entirely correct.
00:28According to Snopes, the truth is a little complicated.
00:31The FDA has rules in place about what can and can't be called ice cream, saying it has
00:36to have no less than 10 percent milk fat.
00:38There are a bunch of other rules, but basically, DQ's soft serve doesn't have enough milk fat
00:43to be called ice cream, so it was originally referred to as ice milk.
00:47Since that doesn't sound nearly as good, the FDA allows products to be marketed with names
00:52like low-fat or light ice cream.
00:54So DQ isn't technically breaking any rules, but they're not serving you the real ice cream
00:59you might be expecting.
01:01Top secret recipe
01:02You've probably heard rumors about just how top-secret KFC's fried chicken recipe is,
01:08and those rumors are true.
01:09Did you know DQ has a secret recipe, too?
01:12"...is kept in a safe deposit box."
01:14Really?
01:15"...there are only a few keys to it."
01:16As the basis for all their ice cream products, it's their most closely guarded secret.
01:21Not quite moderation
01:23Today, DQ is more famous for their Blizzards than their soft serve.
01:27According to Franchise Times, the candy-mixed Blizzard hit the streets in 1985, with Heath,
01:32Mars, and Oreo all eventually joining the team.
01:34But in 2016, Reuters reported Mars was considering pulling M&M's and other candies out of products
01:40like the Blizzard.
01:41Their reasoning?
01:42These sugar-packed desserts went against the message of moderation they were trying to
01:45send to consumers.
01:48Very guilty pleasure
01:49No one's expecting something healthy when they head to DQ for dessert, but it's still
01:53shocking just how bad some of their food and dessert items really are.
01:57Check out their nutritional information, and you'll find that even picking up a medium
02:00Blizzard is likely to set you back between 20 and 30 grams of fat and around 100 grams
02:05of sugar.
02:06Go for a large, and you might be looking at up to 150 grams of sugar.
02:10If you've wondered what makes DQ's grill items taste so good, it's probably all the calories
02:15and fat.
02:16A side of chili cheese fries will set you back 51 grams of fat and 1,020 calories, while
02:21those breakfast biscuits and gravy are going to leave you filled up with 46 grams of fat
02:25and 720 calories.
02:26A guilty pleasure, indeed.
02:29Food poisoning claims
02:31While you might expect to feel a little queasy after eating a large Blizzard, you can also
02:34accept that it's your own fault.
02:37What's not your fault is when you're served something that makes you sick from the very
02:40first taste.
02:41In 2014, ABC Denver reported a 7-year-old boy was taken to the hospital after getting
02:46a DQ vanilla shake.
02:47"...something was, like, bubbling on my tongue."
02:51"...bubbling on your tongue?
02:53Was it burning?"
02:55"...yeah."
02:56It turns out, an employee had accidentally put vanilla syrup in a bucket that was soaking
03:01in floor cleaner and degreaser solution.
03:03In 2017, a Texas man reportedly spent $20,000 on his emergency room visit after getting
03:08food poisoning from a moldy DQ burger.
03:11According to the Dallas Morning News, in spite of being offered a coupon for more DQ food,
03:16the man was planning on suing.
03:19Safety problems
03:20DQ probably hopes you don't take a look at their track record with the health and safety
03:24inspector either, because on top of having violations, many stores have been completely
03:28shut down.
03:29According to Consumerist, DQ had the highest number of health and safety violations in
03:33the country in 2007, and Orlando locations averaged 13 violations per store.
03:39According to WSB-TV, multiple Georgia locations failed in 2016 because of things like mold
03:44buildup and improper food temps.
03:47According to CBS News, that same year, Florida health inspectors found live roaches living
03:51in a Temple Terrace DQ, and they were tipped off after people started complaining they
03:55were getting roaches in their soft serve.
03:57Of course, not all locations have these safety issues, so we'll just say, be sure to check
04:01those health and safety reports before you stop into DQ for a delicious treat.