Probe widened as scandal spreads
Print Edition
A MEAT scandal in China engulfed US coffee chain Starbucks, Burger King Worldwide Inc and others yesterday and spread to Japan where McDonald’s said the Chinese supplier accused of selling expired beef and chicken had provided 20 percent of the meat for its chicken nuggets.
Chinese authorities expanded their investigation of the meat supplier Husi Food Co, a unit of US-based OSI Group LLC.
After Husi’s food processing plant in Shanghai was sealed by local regulator on Sunday, the China Food and Drug Administration said yesterday that inspectors also will look at the company’s facilities and meat sources in five provinces in central, eastern and southern China.
The food watchdog said it ordered regional offices to carry out spot checks on all firms which had used Shanghai Husi products, and would inspect all of parent OSI’s sites around China to see if enough has been done to ensure food safety.
It said the case could be handed over to the police.
Food safety violations will be “severely punished,” the food agency said on its website yesterday.
Starbucks Corp yesterday said it removed from its shelves sandwiches made with chicken that originated at Husi. Burger King Corp said it stopped using hamburger it received from a supplier that used product from the Shanghai company.
Pizza restaurant chain Papa John’s International Inc also announced it stopped using meat from Husi.
In Japan, McDonald’s Corp said it stopped selling McNuggets at more than 1,300 outlets that used chicken supplied by Husi. It said the Shanghai company had been supplying chicken to it since 2002.
McDonald’s spokesman Kenji Kaniya said the affected stores are in the Tokyo area and the cities of Nagano and Shizuoka.
Shanghai Dragon TV reported on Sunday that Husi repackaged old beef and chicken and put new expiration dates on them.
It said they were sold to McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants.
McDonald’s and Yum Brands Inc, which owns KFC and Pizza Hut, said they immediately stopped using meat from Husi. A third restaurant chain, Taiwan-based Dicos, also said on Monday it stopped using meat from Husi.
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.
Some companies said they didn’t deal with Husi but had discovered their suppliers bought meat from that company.
Yum’s KFC is China’s biggest restaurant chain, with more than 4,000 outlets and plans to open 700 more this year.
KFC sales in China plunged after state 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.
The new scare has stirred local consumers and become one of the most discussed topics online among the netizens, with some users spreading long lists of companies thought to be tarnished.
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