Alaska woman claims McDonald's Happy Meal hasn't aged in six years

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- The owner of an Alaska chiropractic clinic shared a photo she alleges to show a 6-year-old McDonald's Happy Meal that shows no outward signs of aging.

Jennifer Lovdahl, owner of Balanced Health Chiropractic in Anchorage, shared photos on Facebook showing the receipt for the Happy Meal she purchased Jan. 8, 2010, alongside the chicken nuggets and French Fries from the 6-year-old meal.

The fries and nuggets appear slightly discolored, but show no signs of mold, rot or decomposition.

"It's been 6 years since I bought this 'Happy Meal' at McDonald's," Lovdahl wrote.

"It's been sitting at our office this whole time and has not rotted, molded, or decomposed at all!!! It smells only of cardboard. We did this experiment to show our patients how unhealthy this 'food' is. Especially for our growing children!! There are so many chemicals in this food! Choose real food! Apples, bananas, carrots, celery....those are real fast food."

Lovdahl theorized that "the box will decompose before the food does!"

The FAQ section on McDonald's website offers a potential explanation for the phenomenon.

"Food needs moisture in the air for mold to form. Without it, food will simply dry out -- sort of like bread left out on a counter overnight to make croutons for stuffing," the website states. "You might have seen experiments which seem to show no decomposition in our food. Most likely, this is because the food has dehydrated before any visible deterioration could occur."