Thaindian News

Beijing, March 16 (IANS) A McDonald’s restaurant here has been found selling food that should have been thrown away, Shanghai Daily reported Friday.

Staff were also seen changing expiry dates and, in one case, putting back beef that had fallen on the ground, it quoted China Central Television as saying.

The workers’ violations were captured by undercover reporters and broadcast nationwide on China’s Consumer Rights Day Thursday.

In video footage, staff at the McDonald’s restaurant in central Sanlitun area were seen resetting clocks on ovens when they sounded an alarm that the food inside should be thrown away.

By resetting the clocks, the food could be reheated over and over again until sold, the programme said.

At lunchtime March 1, workers put a plate of fried chicken wings into the ovens where they should only have been kept for 30 minutes.

But two hours later the wings had still not been thrown away and were still available to be sold.

Cheese pieces are required by restaurant rules to be discarded two hours after they are exposed to the air.

But in the video, cheese sat on dishes for more than four hours, to be then used in breakfast burgers.

Staff could also be seen writing expiry dates on packs and changing dates.

Said a worker. “Regulations? They are made by human beings.”

In another scene, raw beef fell on the ground but a worker simply picked it up and put it back.

“It’s fine, it’s not you who will eat them,” said the worker. “The bacteria will all die when the beef is fried and no one will have any health problems after eating it.”

McDonald’s China issued a statement saying the company would investigate, according to 163.com. It told the website that the “incident only occurred at the Sanlitun restaurant”.