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No burgers at some China McDonald’s over food scare

July 28, 2014 - 20:49 By Korea Herald
SHANGHAI (AFP) ― McDonald’s outlets in Beijing and Shanghai have yanked their flagship burgers off the menu after a key U.S. supplier recalled products made by its Shanghai factory, which is alleged to have used expired meat.

Authorities in Shanghai just over a week ago shut a plant owned by privately held OSI Group for mixing out-of-date meat with fresh product and later detained five officials from the OSI subsidiary which operated it, Shanghai Husi Food Co.

The factory’s customers in China included McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, coffee chain Starbucks, Burger King, 7-Eleven convenience stores and Papa John’s Pizza, according to the companies.

An operator from the McDonald’s national delivery hotline said Monday that beef and chicken items were unavailable in the Shanghai area, though fish and pork could be ordered.

“We have stopped selling all products related to Husi for food safety.

Products affected mainly used beef and chicken,” he said.

At a McDonald’s in central Beijing, counter staff told customers that the branch only had the Filet-O-Fish sandwich.

At every cash register, there were signs in both Chinese and English reading: “We regret to let you know that currently we will only be able to provide a limited menu at our restaurant.”

It was unclear how wide the shortages are. By the end of April, McDonald’s had more than 2,000 restaurants in China, according to its website.

McDonald’s China could not be immediately reached for comment.

OSI Group, based in Aurora, Illinois, announced over the weekend that it was withdrawing all products made by the factory in Shanghai.