JAPAN: Food crisis once again strikes Japan’s McDonald food chain after several news reported that vinyl had been discovered in an order of McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets at an Aomori location. The nuggets were later recalled to Tokyo headquarters for investigation and inspection.
The incident received widespread media attention on Monday after Japan’s national broadcaster NHK and national newspaper Yomiuri reported it, according to India Times.
After Chinese supplier Shanghai Husi Food Co. reportedly sold expired meat to McDonald’s chains in July 2014, McDonald’s Japan, which at the time sourced its meat from both China and Thailand, stopped importing from China because of consumer distrust. McDonald’s Japan has since sourced its chicken from three suppliers in Thailand.
Just last month, McDonald’s Japan experienced a shortage of frozen french fries after imports were delayed because of labor disputes at shipping ports along the United States’ West Coast. McDonald’s had to temporarily stop sales of medium and large-size portions of its french fries across Japan, but resumed sales of all sizes of fries on Monday
Sales have been declining at McDonald’s across Japan, marking its 10th consecutive monthly decline in November 2014. The fast-food chain forecast its first loss in 11 years in October 2014, according to Reuters. McDonald’s Holdings Japan announced in a press release last November that it was implementing a plan to recover its business by “regaining customers’ confidence in (its) food” and “strengthening (its) focus on relevant pricing, menu innovation and modernizing (its) restaurants.”
