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Meat scandal reveals sheer greed on part of McDonald’s, others
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WHEN I passed through a McDonald’s outlet in the vicinity of my office last night, I saw an almost empty dining room in the wake of allegations that the American fast-food giant fed its customers in Shanghai and other Chinese cities rotten beef — all from a fully US-funded meat supplier headquartered in Jiading District.
But few believe that, given children’s addiction to junk food, it will take very long for the junk food provider to stage a comeback. Husi Food Co Ltd, a unit of OSI Group LLC of Aurora, Illinois, cooperated with other Chinese arms of international chains including KFC parent Yum Brands Inc, Starbucks, Subway, Burger King, Papa John’s and 7-11.
Police have detained five people in Shanghai, and the city watchdog has sealed off 160 tons of Husi products. Gu Zhenhua, deputy of the Shanghai office of the State Food and Drug Administration, said the whole affair was very likely organized. That was based on Husi employees confessing that they had been ordered to sell meat that was out of date or even had gone bad, using fake labels, for quite a long time and had accepted it as routine practice.
Husi has had its business stopped pending further investigation. It went too far this time, but those global brands that did business with the firm can hardly absolve themselves from blame. McDonald’s claimed itself a victim, saying it was deceived by Husi. I don’t buy it. We customers are the only victims. It was not the first time fast-food chains like McDonald’s and KFC were involved in food scandals. Only last year, the two industry icons were discovered using chickens fed with excessive antibiotics.
After that, KFC launched a series of TV advertisements promising all its products safe and claiming that customers’ health was always its top concern.
How hypocritical it is, as it is with many of its industry peers. It’s clear that money and profits are their top concern. Media reports said that Husi and McDonald’s never signed a contract, yet business between the two companies lasted for more than two decades. What a tacit understanding between the two!
It is now entirely clear that industry giants of such kind never care about customers’ benefits. They are only interested in the money in their own pockets. Discussing social responsibilities with them is like playing the lute to a cow.
Personal experience
I remember some of my unhappy experiences with McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks. More than once, I found some of their products stale. The meat products I ordered sometimes had a pink color inside and smelled weird. I later gave up and have seldom visited them since then. I believe many others may have similar experiences.
How sad it is that some among us paid as much as 30 yuan (US$4.75) for a sandwich at a Starbucks store, only to be given one with Husi meat included. Poor customers blindly trust a brand and are willing to pay high prices to acquire a good experience.
They were used by some heartless capitalists. At least from evidence revealed so far, Husi very likely carried out its illegal practice deliberately while its multinational customers claimed they were unaware of what it did, though they closely collaborated with it.
Shanghai’s Party chief, Han Zheng, and Mayor Yang Xiong have ordered a thorough investigation and severe punishment for any wrongdoings.
The investigation is ongoing. More inside stories or even crimes are likely to be uncovered. Some businessmen may learn lessons from the incident. As Google’s corporate motto says, “Don’t be evil.” I’m not sure whether Google always complies with its slogan but I’m quite sure any commercial empire built on evils won’t last long and its illegalities will be exposed one day.
There are always brave people with courage to find and tell the truth like what Shanghai Television reporters did this time. Perhaps our regulators will enhance their inspections next time. Without the STV scoop on Sunday night that revealed the scandal, I’m not confident that our industry watchdogs could uncover the lid on their own.
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