OAK BROOK, Ill. – McDonald's USA announced last week that its vanilla soft serve ice cream is now made with no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, a move the QSR has been undertaking since the fall of 2016.

In addition, the chocolate and strawberry McCafé shake syrup has no high fructose corn syrup and the whipped topping served on all three flavors of shakes is made with no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

“Soft serve now joins other changes we have made, such as removing artificial preservatives from McNuggets, committing to cage-free eggs by 2025 and only serving chicken made from chicken not treated with antibiotics important to human medicine,” said Darci Forrest, senior director of menu innovation at McDonald's. 

Over the past two years, McDonald's has made a series of changes to its menu, including the launch of all-day breakfast and updated Chicken McNuggets, a new premium salad blend, and using real butter on its English muffins, bagels and biscuits. McDonald’s says that the updated soft serve is part of the company’s “food journey and another way the company is helping customers feel good about the food they're enjoying.”

CNBC reports that revitalizing its menu is just part of McDonald’s plan to win back the more than 500 million customer visits it has lost since 2012. The QSR is focusing its efforts on innovation, store renovations, digital ordering and delivery, notes the news source, adding that so far this year, McDonald's has received a sales boost from its new variety of Big Macs and its series of discounted beverages.