Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Business

French fries and a tooth? McDonald’s Japan takes the heat

The latest apology included the assurance that the company was doing everything they can to ensure the safety of their products. In the highly competitive fast-food world, McDonald’s has just taken their third strike, following on the heels of the China chicken scandal and more recently, french fry rationing.

Hiroyuki Kamiya, chairman and founder of Japan Food Analyst Association (JFAA), said “It’s another blow for McDonald’s in Japan and sales will likely fall further.”

In another incident, a child suffered a cut lip in December from a piece of plastic while eating a chocolate sundae. It was decided a piece of plastic had fallen into the dispenser when it was being assembled.

On Jan. 3, a man in a city in Northern Japan found a piece of what appeared to be light-blue vinyl several centimeters long (1 1/2 inches) inside a chicken McNugget. Two days later, a customer in Tokyo found a piece of clear vinyl in a McNugget. The incidents are still being investigated, and the company halted the sale of McNuggets that had been made on the same day by their supplier in Thailand.

McDonald’s began getting their chicken McNuggets from three sources in Thailand about six months ago. The change in vendors was an attempt to inspire customer confidence in the quality of their product after the Chinese supplier Shanghai Husi Food Co Ltd. was accused of selling McDonald’s expired meat.

The incident with the human tooth occurred during August last year. A customer ordered a Big Mac and fries and found the tooth in his french fries. No employees at the outlet had lost a tooth, and none of the company’s suppliers had lost a tooth. The tooth itself had not gone into the fryer. This incident is still under investigation.

Sales have nose-dived at McDonald’s Japan outlets by more than 10 percent on the year every month since July, 2014 when the China chicken scandal broke. Same store sales have continued to drop since last August, remaining in the double digits. McDonald’s Japan declined to comment on the latest incidents and how sales would be affected.

Avatar photo
Written By

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

You may also like:

World

Calling for urgent action is the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

World

Immigration is a symptom of a much deeper worldwide problem.

Business

Saudi Aramco President & CEO Amin Nasser speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas - Copyright AFP Mark FelixPointing to the still...

Business

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal infers that some workers might be falling out of the job market altogether.