Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

frozen burgers

'Expired' beef and chicken supplied to McDonald's and KFC in China

Both immediately stopped using meat from the supplier once the revelations emerged.

MCDONALD’S AND KFC in China are facing a new food safety scare after a Shanghai television station reported a supplier sold them expired beef and chicken.

The companies said they immediately stopped using meat from the supplier, Husi Food Co., Ltd. The Shanghai office of China’s food and drug agency said it was investigating and told customers to suspend use of its products.

Dragon TV said Sunday that Husi, owned by OSI Group of Aurora, Illinois, repackaged stale beef and chicken and put new expiration dates on them. It said they were sold to McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants.

The report added to a series of food safety scares in China that have battered public confidence in dairies, fast food outlets and other suppliers.

McDonald’s Corp. and Yum Brands Inc., which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, said in separate statements they were conducting their own investigations.

“Food safety”

“Food safety is a top priority for McDonald’s,” the company said on its Weibo account. The company said it pursues “strict compliance” with consumer safety laws and regulations and has “zero tolerance for illegal behavior.”

A third company, sandwich shop chain Dicos, said in a statement it stopped using sausage patties supplied by Husi. Dicos is owned by Taiwan’s Ting Hsin International Group and the company website said it had 2,000 outlets in China as of September 2013.

The Shanghai office of the State Food and Drug Administration said it was working with police to investigate Husi.

“At present, the company has been sealed and suspect products seized,” the agency said on its website. It said distributors had been ordered to hold any of its products for investigation.

McDonald's to create 8,000 jobs Rui Vieira / PA Wire Rui Vieira / PA Wire / PA Wire

A woman who answered the phone at Husi’s headquarters said no one was available to comment. The official Xinhua News Agency cited a company manager, Yang Liqun, who said Husi has a strict quality control system and will cooperate in the investigation.

KFC is China’s biggest restaurant chain, with more than 4,000 outlets and plans to open 700 more this year.

The company was badly hurt after state television reported in December 2013 that some poultry suppliers violated rules on drug use in chickens. Yum said KFC sales in China plunged 37 percent the following month. KFC launched an effort to tighten control over product quality and eliminated more than 1,000 small poultry producers from its supply network.

China has suffered a string of product scandals over the past decade in which infants, hospital patients and others have been killed by phony or adulterated milk powder, drugs and other goods.

Foreign fast food brands are seen as more reliable than Chinese competitors, though local brands have made big improvements in quality.

The high profile of foreign brands means any complaints involving them attract attention, while their status as foreign companies with less political influence means Chinese media can publicize their troubles more freely.

Read: Horses that may have entered the food chain are now being abandoned and dying – ISPCA >

More: Simon Coveney says rotting meat claims are wrong and have been ‘hyped up’ >

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
28 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dermot Ryan
    Favourite Dermot Ryan
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 11:57 AM

    Horse it into them !

    87
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dannster
    Favourite Dannster
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:03 PM

    giddy up

    28
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute George Grey
    Favourite George Grey
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:08 PM

    So we are to believe that McDonald’s with all their stringent controls in place, had no idea what was happening. Somehow I doubt it. More a case of treating the Asian market as second class citizens. The same too with KFC. Both these companies are the lowest of the low when it comes to workers wages and rights. The customer is regarded as much the same. And of course their food is chemically rotton, chickens and beef pumped up to the eyeballs with fatteners and nasty steroids. Food over the date……ah sure what the hell. .. it’s o lynch’s the general public…In China… consuming it!

    43
    See 5 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Richard Cynical
    Favourite Richard Cynical
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:20 PM

    I’m sure most customers will have gone off to eat somewhere else

    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Summer Bay Devil
    Favourite Summer Bay Devil
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:25 PM

    If they really wanted meat they wouldn’t be going in there to begin with.

    29
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Lorraine Cullinane ✨
    Favourite Lorraine Cullinane ✨
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:52 PM

    I dunno how anyone eats KFC anyways, google how they make their chicken and think twice next time wen u thinkin bout eating it!

    30
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Simon Barnes
    Favourite Simon Barnes
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:55 PM

    Google how any food is made/processed/grown. you’d think none of us would eat anything.

    25
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Richard Cynical
    Favourite Richard Cynical
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:57 PM

    Yeah KFC is definitely the worst of them, but there gravy is savage. If you are in the right food hall I suggest you get macdonald chips burger king double whopper and KFC gravy, I call it the heart attack.

    23
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jimmy Dillane
    Favourite Jimmy Dillane
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 11:56 AM

    The Chinese.. A great bunch of lads

    62
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute TOP CAT
    Favourite TOP CAT
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:12 PM

    Sure just add curry to it and you wouldn’t know what kinda meat is in it..
    That’s how they roll in my local Chinese. ..

    48
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Glen
    Favourite Glen
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:13 PM

    You just can’t beat a mystery curry !

    40
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jason Bourne
    Favourite Jason Bourne
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:49 PM

    Disgusting but after a feed of pints, I’m all over that ‘sh*t’.

    13
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Glen
    Favourite Glen
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:02 PM

    That’s cat… Seriously it’s ruff !!

    30
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mick Jordan
    Favourite Mick Jordan
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:46 PM

    Bord Bia should get their oar in there. Big market for Irish Beef.

    17
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute SeekingUniverslTruth
    Favourite SeekingUniverslTruth
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 11:59 AM

    It’s never been a better time to go vegie, why spend €8 on shite when for much the same price you can have an asian meal.

    Asian vegetarian food is awesome.

    17
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Micheal S. O' Ceilleachair
    Favourite Micheal S. O' Ceilleachair
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:16 PM

    Must be “fowl” play!!

    9
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Simon Barnes
    Favourite Simon Barnes
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:58 PM

    ha. you go eat your GM and pestercied cover veg. And don’t tell me you only eat organic veg, I’ve seen plenty of documentary;s on how some food sellers take shop produce and roll it in compost to make it look fresh organically grown.

    The only way you know what your eating is to grow or rear it yourself

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Thierry Rat
    Favourite Thierry Rat
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 1:02 PM

    I’m surprised mc Donald’s use meat, that’s re assuring

    10
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Niall Mullins
    Favourite Niall Mullins
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 1:21 PM

    You gotta love their meatballs though. They really are the dogs bollox.

    10
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Margaret Doyle Hanley
    Favourite Margaret Doyle Hanley
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:28 PM

    It’s good to actually think about what fast food restaurants say in their adds + do a little research.
    For example, ‘Freshly prepared food ‘ does not mean fresh food. It means simply that the food is only put into it’s box/bag on the day you buy it or maybe it’s baked in-store on the day but where did it come from+how long did the trip take?
    ’100%.beef’ usually means it’s calves liver as that is 100% beef.

    9
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute SeekingUniverslTruth
    Favourite SeekingUniverslTruth
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:03 PM

    out of date burgers and formaldehyde in their beer.

    BBQ anyone?

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dermot Ryan
    Favourite Dermot Ryan
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 8:51 PM

    At least formaldahyde is only carcinogenic …. I’ll be over ..as long as the burgers are G.M. free !

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dónal Mac Cormaic
    Favourite Dónal Mac Cormaic
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:59 PM

    Glad I avoided these “restaurants” in China.

    5
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Michele Savage
    Favourite Michele Savage
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:30 PM

    Hus in charge at Husi!

    4
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Joseph Siddall
    Favourite Joseph Siddall
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 5:15 PM

    No-one knows Hus in charge; it’s a secret. But Hus going to let the cat out of the bag. And Hus to say he shouldn’t ?
    Don’t know why I got involved with this.

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Niall Condren
    Favourite Niall Condren
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 12:56 PM

    I’d be surprised if it was really meat and chicken that was delivered forget the expiry date

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Neoc Divid
    Favourite Neoc Divid
    Report
    Jul 21st 2014, 1:40 PM

    Neigh neigh and trice neigh ….

    2
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Cathy Conley
    Favourite Cathy Conley
    Report
    Jul 22nd 2014, 4:41 AM

    China’s worried about expired beef coming into their country? What a joke! Look what they export. CRAP! Toys with lead. Food with toxins. Don’t know where to begin.

    1
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds