McDonald’s Hong Kong pulls shrimp burgers after Taiwan detects antibiotic residue
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.McDonald's Hong Kong has temporarily removed its Ebi Burger series from the menu as a precautionary measure. This follows a suspension in Taiwan, where shrimp patties tested positive for banned nitrofuran antibiotic residues. Although McDonald's confirmed that Hong Kong's supply comes from a different batch and supplier, it is monitoring the situation closely to address public concern regarding food safety.
McDonald’s has temporarily removed its popular Ebi Burger series from its menu in Hong Kong as a “precautionary measure”, following a similar suspension in Taiwan due to food safety concerns, despite the shrimp patties used in the local items coming from a different production batch. Taiwan McDonald’s announced on Thursday morning that it had immediately suspended sales of “Ebi Burger” and “Double Ebi Burger” after an importer notified it the night before that random batch testing on the shrimp patties used in the products found 0.7 ppb (parts per billion) of nitrofurans and their chemical residues, which did not comply with food safety regulations. Nitrofurans are a class of synthetic antibiotics banned in many countries. The Taiwan operator apologised and said it would refund customers who purchased the products on Wednesday and Thursday. A check of McDonald’s app in Hong Kong on Thursday showed that “Ebi Burger”, “Double Ebi Burger” and “Ebi Burger with Pineapple” were all “currently unavailable”. In a media response, McDonald’s Hong Kong said it temporarily removed all Ebi Burger and related products from its menu as a “precautionary measure” to address potential public concern. The chain said it was closely monitoring developments and had undertaken an immediate review with its global supplier in Thailand. It confirmed that the shrimp patties used in Hong Kong were different from those supplied to Taiwan in both recipe and production batch. The fast-food chain reiterated its commitment to the highest standards of food safety and quality, and said it strictly complies with all local food safety requirements. The South China Morning Post has reached out to the Centre for Food Safety in Hong Kong for comment. According to previous CFS statements, nitrofurans are a family of chemical compounds with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. While evidence suggests nitrofurans may cause cancer in animals, there is insufficient data to confirm they can cause the disease in humans.