McDonald’s Pakistan Meat Scandal

“Shanghai Husi Food Company” that had been banned in China over selling chicken and beef beyond their expiry had also exported meat to McDonald’s Pakistan last month, reported by an international news channel.  The Chinese company replaced the old expiry dates with the new expiry dates to declare the meat fresh and healthy and the meat was also exported to McDonald’s Pakistan. Gam Corporation Private Limited and Siza Foods Private Limited supplied the meat to McDonald’s and the products “McNuggets” and “McCrispy” Burger Patty in Pakistan were supplied by ‘Husi Foods Company Ltd China’ (The Banned Company). 

Over 41 tones of chicken products were imported by McDonald's in May 2014 and over 71 tons in June 2014. Shanghai Husi Food Company has been shuttered when a TV channel broadcasted the footage of the alleged violations. Shanghai Husi Food is owned by OSI Group, an Illinois-based food-processing company. The company has been supplying McDonald’s in China for 22 years and Yum Brands for 6 years.

 Video Footage:

The video footage captured by 'Dragon TV' showed how workers in Shanghai Husi Food Company are playing with people's health.

- They were touching meat with ungloved hands.

- Picked up meat from the factory floor.

- Threw it back to the processor.

- The footage showed how workers mixed 2 weeks expired chicken meat into fresh meat to make Chicken McNuggets.

- It also showed that how workers were using frozen beef that was allegedly 7 months beyond its expiration date that was already reported green and odorous.

 McDonald’s had stopped using meet from Shanghai Husi Food and started investigations. OSI Group and McDonald's also apologized to the public. McDonald's in Japan has taken McNuggets off the menu of its 1,700 restaurants.

 Previously, there were many other food scandals that were reported in China like :

- They used to include gutter oil in cooking.

- They used to mix rat meat with lamb in hot-pot dishes.

- Last year thousands of dead pigs were dumped into river that provided drinking water to Shanghai.

Now the questions and rumors are surrounding McDonald’s and affecting their business badly all over the world. Some major questions that surrounded Pakistan are:

- The question is that no mechanism is in place to monitor/inspect the quality and other aspects of the imported meat? Neither in China nor in Pakistan.

- Was the meat supplied by the company Halal or Haram?

- Is McDonald's playing with people's health and life to sell such products?

- What will be the next step, if this scandal is reported? Should there any health checks in place for McDonald's and so called branded food providing restaurants?

- Is there no food quality check by McDonald's to ensure what sort of meat they are getting?