·  The McDonald's cheeseburger is about to reach its two-year anniversary at the doctor's office in Michigan

·  The food appears 'mummified' but with no decay and no strange smells, Dr Jacqueline Vaughn told Daily Mail Online on Wednesday

·  She plans to keep the fast-food on the counter 'forever' to educate patients in healthy eating   

A doctor's office left a McDonald's cheeseburger and fries along with a Taco Bell chicken taco in the open-air for two years to monitor what happened. The answer? Not a lot. 

As the fast-food approaches its two-year anniversary on the counter of the chiropractors' surgery in Waterford, Michigan, the meals appear weirdly unchanged - with no decay and no funky smells.

Dr Jacqueline Vaughn, of Vaughn Chiropractic, told Daily Mail Online on Wednesday that she hoped to make people think about what they were putting in their bodies - especially her fast-food loving younger patients.

Scroll down for video 

Doctors in Michigan left out some fast food for two years at their Michigan clinic - only to find out that it changes very little and emanates no smells 

She said: 'There's no smell from it, it's basically mummified. You can pick it up, turn it over and still see the cheese and pickle in the burger and the lettuce and cheese in the Taco Bell.

'Even in the summer when we get ants, the bugs won't go near it.' 

Dr Vaughn said that she planned to keep the fast-food on display 'forever'. 

Wayne State University professor of food science Yafan Zhang told CBS that it's a preservative called calcium probinate that keeps the food looking almost still edible for a long time.

The burger (above) and the taco appeared 'mummified', the doctors said, but had not rotted after two years in the open air 

The preservative is used in a range of products to keep them fresh such as bread, cakes and processed meat. 

It is non-toxic and approved safe to use, following rigorous labratory testing.

Dr Zhang also told CBS: 'These ingredients, they have potential to cause some inflammation in our stomachs... unless you eat a lot of this type of food everyday – then you will be okay.' 

Eight out of ten Americans admit visiting fast-food restaurants each month - and half of people eat there at least once a week, according to a 2013 Gallup study. 

Young adults, aged from 18 to 29, eat fast food most often with more than half saying they do so at least once a week.

Before shot: A McDonald's cheeseburger and a Taco Bell taco as customers are more used to seeing them

Dr Jacqueline Vaughn (pictured left) and Dr Ronda Vaughn Marshall run the chiropractor clinic in Waterford, Michigan and set out the fast-food as a health lesson for patients

Read more:

- See more at: http://www.bostonnewstime.com/national/88833-why-do-mcdonald-s-and-taco-bell-meals-appear-fresh-after-years-in-the-open-air.html#sthash.Gp8sfSwa.dpuf

- See more at: http://www.bostonnewstime.com/national/88833-why-do-mcdonald-s-and-taco-bell-meals-appear-fresh-after-years-in-the-open-air.html#sthash.Gp8sfSwa.dpuf

A doctor's office left a McDonald's cheeseburger and fries along with a Taco Bell chicken taco in the open-air for two years to monitor what happened. The answer? Not a lot. 

As the fast-food approaches its two-year anniversary on the counter of the chiropractors' surgery in Waterford, Michigan, the meals appear weirdly unchanged - with no decay and no funky smells.

Dr Jacqueline Vaughn, of Vaughn Chiropractic, told Daily Mail Online on Wednesday that she hoped to make people think about what they were putting in their bodies - especially her fast-food loving younger patients.

Scroll down for video 

Doctors in Michigan left out some fast food for two years at their Michigan clinic - only to find out that it changes very little and emanates no smells 

She said: 'There's no smell from it, it's basically mummified. You can pick it up, turn it over and still see the cheese and pickle in the burger and the lettuce and cheese in the Taco Bell.

'Even in the summer when we get ants, the bugs won't go near it.' 

Dr Vaughn said that she planned to keep the fast-food on display 'forever'. 

Wayne State University professor of food science Yafan Zhang told CBS that it's a preservative called calcium probinate that keeps the food looking almost still edible for a long time.

 

- See more at: http://www.bostonnewstime.com/national/88833-why-do-mcdonald-s-and-taco-bell-meals-appear-fresh-after-years-in-the-open-air.html#sthash.Gp8sfSwa.dpuf