I've worked at Wendy's and this just isn't true, at least at those restaurants that do things as directed by Wendy's HQ. The chili meat is not old and dried up at all.
I agree with you. I love Wendy's chili and I would know if it wasn't made from fresh meat - you can tell! Maybe the Wendy's that person worked at had a $hitty manager that did things that way. I used to work at Subway and our manager had a budget to work with, when she saved any money - she pocketed that herself. She never compromised on food quality though.
However, as a teen, I used to work at the local movie theater. We had shipments of already popped popcorn come in large bags from the headquarters in Cincinatti - we put those bags in the storage room and poured them into the popcorn machines to warm up before we sold it. When you would go into the storage room to get a bag - you would turn on the light and watch the rats scatter! Some bags had holes chewed in them where rats had eaten. It turned me off on movie popcorn for many years! Now, I look to see if it's popped on site.
Also, I happen to know that many restaurants don't clean their ice machines often enough and mold grows in there - also coffee machines. That part I do believe and it is an area of concern for me.
They say a lot of times when people feel sick - it's food related. A lot more than we think.