China meat scandal hits Starbucks, Burger King

BEIJING // A meat scandal in China engulfed Starbucks and Burger King on Tuesday and spread to Japan.

McDonald’s in Japan said the Chinese supplier accused of selling expired beef and chicken had provided 20 per cent of the meat for its chicken nuggets.

Chinese authorities expanded their investigation of the meat supplier, Shanghai firm Husi Food Co.

A day after Husi’s food processing plant in Shanghai was sealed by the China Food and Drug Administration, the agency said that inspectors will also look at its facilities and meat sources in five provinces in central, eastern and southern China.

The scandal surrounding Husi Food – is owned by OSI Group of Aurora, Illinois – has added to a string of food safety scares in China over milk, medicines and other goods.

It has left the public wary of dairies, restaurants and other suppliers.

Food safety violations will be “severely punished”, the food agency said.

Starbucks, Burger King and pizza restaurant chain Papa John’s all said they stopped using products that from Husi.

In Japan, McDonald’s said it stopped selling McNuggets at more than 1,300 outlets that used chicken supplied by Husi – the Shanghai company had been supplying chicken to it since 2002.

A Shanghai broadcaster, Dragon TV, reported on Sunday that Husi repackaged old beef and chicken and put new expiration dates on them. It said the products were sold to McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants.

In a statement, Husi said it was “appalled by the report” and would cooperate with the investigation. It promised to share the results with the public.

“Our company management believes this to be an isolated event, but takes full responsibility for the situation and will take appropriate actions swiftly and comprehensively,” Husi said.

Food and drug safety is an unusually sensitive issue in China following scandals over the past decade in which infants, hospital patients and others have been killed or sickened 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.

KFC sales in China plunged after television reported in December 2013 some poultry suppliers violated rules on drug use in chickens. KFC overhauled quality controls and eliminated more than 1,000 small poultry producers from its supply network.

* Associated Press