Warc, 4 September 2014
BEIJING: McDonald's, the quick service restaurant chain, has
announced a series of measures to improve its food supply operations in China
after it was hit by a food scandal at its main supplier in July that damaged
its image and dented sales.
The fast food restaurant chain said it will increase the
number of audits it conducts into suppliers. Half of them would be unannounced
and carried out by third party and internal McDonald's management teams, the
Wall Street Journal reported.
There will be more video surveillance at its Chinese
suppliers, more quality control experts will be sent to all meat production
facilities, and an anonymous hotline will be set up for suppliers and their
staff to report unethical practices.
Furthermore, Cindy Jiang, currently senior director of
McDonald's global food safety, quality and nutrition, will take over as acting
head of the company's national food safety unit in China.
McDonald's was rocked in July when an undercover television
documentary alleged it had uncovered unhygienic practices at the Shanghai Husi
Food Co., including the use of meat beyond its expiry date.
With more than 2,000 outlets in China, McDonald's third
largest market in terms of the number of restaurants, the scandal hit the
company hard as Chinese consumers have frequently expressed sensitivity about
overall food standards in the country.
Chinese police last week arrested six members of staff at
Husi, which is owned by US-based OSI Group, and an investigation into the
company is still ongoing.
McDonald's has already announced that it is reconsidering
its relationship with OSI, its largest supplier, and said it is evaluating
California-based Golden State Foods Corp. as a potential new supplier in China,
starting with the city of Guangzhou.
Ben Cavender, a senior analyst at China Market Research
Group, said the key lesson for all foreign companies seeking to set up
operations in China is to ensure they maintain close management of their
partners and operations.
Data sourced from Wall Street Journal; additional content by
Warc staff
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