SHANGHAI – US fast food chain Burger King has suspended operations at several of its outlets in eastern China and is investigating allegations that it served expired food to customers.
An exhibition broadcasting the allegations was shown at the state-owned CCTV’s annual “315 Night Show” dealing with consumer rights.
The show was shown on CCTV every year on March 15, Consumer Rights Day, since 1991. This year’s show, which was postponed until Thursday due to the pandemic, It is widely seen as it puts companies, including foreign ones, under the microscope.
In addition to Burger King, another high-profile American company that came under fire on this year’s show was automaker General Motors, which was criticized for a faulty transmission in one of its models. Meanwhile, a food processor in eastern Shandong province was accused of using illegal pesticides in his sea cucumber farming business.
Alibaba Group Holding, Apple and Starbucks have been targets of the “315 Night Show” in previous years, apologizing to those accused of misbehaving. The censorship of Burger King and GM, the only foreign companies named this year, takes place against a background of mounting tensions between China and the US.
Following the broadcast, Burger King China issued an apology and promised to investigate.
Burger King restaurants in east China’s Jiangxi province were said to have served expired burgers and chicken nuggets by replacing the labels, following instructions from store managers. “The actions of these media seriously deviated from our ‘Customer is King’ corporate philosophy,” Burger King said in a statement shortly after the broadcast.
The program sparked a strong reaction on social media, and users questioned the chain’s food security practices, an issue that has been a national concern as China works to control the spread of the new coronavirus. “You didn’t do anything until you were exposed,” said one user on the Weibo microblog.
Burger King’s Chinese unit is licensed by Restaurant Brands International and is managed by TAB Food Investments, a Turkish conglomerate that also runs the chain in Turkey. It has more than 1,300 points of sale in 150 cities in China and has been operating in the country since 2012, according to the company’s website.
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