Not-So-Happy Meal: McDonald's Food Hygiene Scandal in China
Did somebody say McDonald’s? The fast food giant is getting a lot of buzz as of late, but this is the sort of press most companies would rather avoid. McDonald’s and Yum Brands Inc. (the parent company to KFC) were in hot water in China, causing serious strain to one of their largest and most important international markets.
McDonald’s and Yum have publicly apologized to customers after it was leaked that their restaurants were selling meat of questionable quality. And by questionable, we mean downright unsanitary — in a television report, workers were shown picking hunks of meat off the floor before processing it for consumption. The products that stayed off the ground didn’t fare much better - meat far past its expiration date was duly shipped off to numerous McDonald’s and KFC restaurants.
This isn’t the first time these companies have caused concern over the quality of their ingredients. Back in 2012, McDonald’s and Yum had to deal with consumer outrage involving chicken practically overdosing on antibiotics. Customers weren’t thrilled about chowing down on these pumped-up chickens (and neither were health officials). It’s taken both companies considerable time to recover from that scandal, and this new development isn’t going to help matters. McDonald’s and Yum both have to deal with the very serious likelihood of a significant fall in revenue for their third-biggest market. And with literally billions of dollars on the line, this isn’t a situation to be taken lightly.
“I think this is going to be really challenging for both these firms,” principal at Shanghai-based Market Research Group, Benjamin Cavender, said in an interview with Reuters. “I don’t know that this is something an apology can fix so easily, because at this point people don’t have a whole lot of trust that they have good systems in place.”
McDonald’s has over 2,000 outlets throughout China, and it is already beginning to feel the repercussions of this latest scandal. Customers are disgusted by what the company is doing with the meat they eat, and many are opting to take their business elsewhere. McDonald’s was already on shaky ground before this new crisis hit. Even after the aforementioned chicken situation was dealt with, sales had not really recovered. On average, sales for McDonald’s fell 3.6 percent throughout China in 2013– and we suspect these new revelations won’t improve those numbers any time soon.
Foodborne diseases and health concerns aren’t an uncommon occurrence throughout China. Many consumers tend to prefer foreign foodstuffs to those produced in their home country, believing the quality of produce to be better overseas. A second scandal involving food quality in just two years isn’t helping matters for consumers or international companies.
McDonald’s and Yum are already doing intense damage control. The meat supplier to both corporations has been shut down pending an investigation. Both companies have apologized to their customers and vowed to improve their health standards and rebuild trust with the public. But consumers in China have heard these promises before, and they are most definitely not lovin' it.
[Pic via Flickr - Rahims]
