OAK BROOK, Ill. – Last week McDonald’s announced that by mid-2018, it will serve fresh beef in all Quarter Pounder burgers across most of its U.S. restaurants. The fresh beef burgers, cooked to order, are the latest step the company has made to meet customers' changing expectations.

“Over the past two years, we've made a series of bold, tangible changes for our customers," said McDonald's President and CEO Steve Easterbrook. "Serving All-Day Breakfast, moving to cage-free eggs and testing delivery are all proof of our commitment to building a better McDonald's. And we are committed to transforming more aspects of our business, including offering a more modern and enjoyable dining experience, adding new levels of convenience and technology, and making more positive changes to the food we serve."

Delivering fresh beef in Quarter Pounder burgers is one of the company's latest customer-led initiatives that builds on several other recent milestones, including all-day breakfast, sourcing cage-free eggs by 2025, and removing artificial preservatives from several menu items.

Quarter Pounder burgers using fresh beef were initially tested in 325 restaurants across the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, area and 77 restaurants in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

"We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from customers and employees and we're proud to have been part of a test that is creating a watershed moment for McDonald's," said McDonald's Dallas/Fort Worth Franchisee Joe Jasper. "This test was driven by the franchisees, our region and insights from what our customers are asking for when they visit McDonald's."