The chicken nuggets have long been under fire for their questionable ingredients, and they've

somehow managed to squeeze 19 ingredients into something as simple as French fries.

But every restaurant has to have at least a few safe menu options, right?

One item that has long been touted as a smart choice is the Filet-O-Fish, but some Reddit

posters claiming to be ex-McDonald's workers are doing their best to blow that option out of the water.

An insanely popular Reddit post asking fast food workers what customers should never order

has garnered nearly 16,000 responses, and a large chunk of those responses have been

dedicated to the beloved fish option from the Golden Arches.

But the problem with the Filet-O-Fish isn't what you might think.

It's not that the always-perfectly-square patty isn't actual fish — it is.

McDonald's uses wild-caught Alaska Pollock from certified sustainable fisheries.

Sounds great, right?

So what's the problem?

"Give me back that fillet-o-fish!

Give me that fish!"

Turns out, that wild-caught fish still might not be fresh — at all.

In fact, it could have been sitting around for hours before you take that first bite.

One user said:

"No one orders Filet-O-Fish, so at my store they sat in the cabinet forever."

Another person called it,

"the fast food equivalent of playing Russian roulette."

Of course, you can always request to have yours made fresh, as many posters recommended,

but even that isn't always a sure solution.

Many posters claim a "fresh" patty is just one that's fresh out of the microwave — after

having sat for a long time in the warmer.

And even if you really are getting a fresh-cooked patty, that Filet-O-Fish may still be completely

questionable, as one Reddit poster who claimed to be an 8-year veteran of McDonald's unveiled

even more dirt on this seafood favorite.

"The patties had a tendency to hang around well past their use-by timer […] Similarly

the tartar sauce could go through several days sitting out in basically room temperature conditions."

Eww.

Not enough to turn you off?

No worries, he kept going, claiming the fryer oil for the fish filets was rarely cleaned.

He finished up with

"Don't get steamed buns, no one ever cleans the steamer."

Despite all this, some loyal Filet-O-Fish fans won't be swayed.

"As somebody who regularly orders it [...] I have to disagree.

It's by far the best fish sandwich that any fast food place has."

According to McDonald's, the sandwich is still a popular seller, both in the US and other

countries around the world.

Something tells us that won't change anytime soon.

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