McDonald’s China Suspends Major Supplier Following Tainted Meat Scandal

23 Jul 2014 --- Up to 25% of McDonald’s restaurants in China are believed to have been serving rotten meat, which had been passed on by a major supplier.

The scandal has also affected other companies, such as Starbucks, Burger King, Papa John’s, KFC and Pizza Hut, although to a lesser extent.

An investigation into a factory run by Shanghai Husi, which is part of American food supplier OSI Group, allegedly discovered workers amending the expiry dates on old meat.

It is believed that huge quantities of rotten beef, and possibly chicken, was reprocessed and repackaged at the factory. 

Chinese authorities have closed the unit down and further investigations are being carried out. 

OSI is considered to be one of the fast-food chain’s largest suppliers in the world, as it has 60 manufacturing plants and in 2012 it logged revenues of $6bn. It has supplied McDonalds in China for more than ten years and it has worked with Yum! Brands (KFC and Pizza Hut) since 2008.

Food safety is a big concern in China where a range of scandals over tainted food products have flared up in both the meat and dairy industries. Such scandals have encouraged consumers to shop more for imported foreign brands, which are often considered to have higher quality control. 

McDonald’s in China, which has 2,000 outlets, has already switched suppliers and is said to be fully cooperating with authorities while the scandal continues to be investigated.