By Nolan Ostrowski, News Editor
Advertisement for McRib – Photo from plaintiff’s lawsuit
On Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, a federal judge rejected McDonald’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit against the franchise over its McRib sandwich.
The lawsuit, filed in late 2025, alleges that McDonalds deliberately designed its McRib sandwich to resemble pork ribs despite it not containing that specific cut of pork. “Despite its name and distinctive shape…the McRib does not contain any actual pork rib meat at all,” says the official class action complaint. “Instead, its meat patty is reconstructed using ground-up portions of lower-grade pork products such as, inter alia, pork shoulder, heart, tripe and scalded stomach.”
The complaint cites the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Daily Pork Report’s findings that pork ribs are “significantly more valuable than lower-quality cuts.” It then argues that “McDonald’s knowingly markets the sandwich in a way that deceives reasonable consumers, who reasonably (but mistakenly) believe that a product named the ‘McRib’ will include at least some meaningful quantity of actual pork rib meat.” The sandwich’s “high price, coupled with its limited availability” are also cited as factors in the misleading of consumers.
The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Illnois by Peter Le, Charles Lynch, Dorien Baker and Darrick Wilison “individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated.” Every one of the four individual plaintiffs had purchased the McRib at least once, with two having purchased it multiple times (plaintiffs Lynch and Baker) while allegedly falsely believing the sandwich contained rib meat.
In a statement to USA TODAY earlier this year, McDonalds responded to the lawsuit, claiming that it “distorts the facts and many of the claims are inaccurate.” It goes on to claim that the sandwich is made from “100% pork.”
McDonald’s McRib sandwich – Photo by McDonald’s
