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Simpson Cheung

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 the “Ebi Burger” and the “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 the Ebi Burger, the Double Ebi Burger and the 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.
A Food and Environmental Hygiene Department spokesman said the Centre for Food Safety had made note of the Taiwan situation and immediately followed up with McDonald’s Hong Kong, which had suspended the sales of relevant products.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the recipe and batches of shrimp patties sold by McDonald’s Hong Kong differed from those of Taiwan.
The spokesman said the presence of nitrofurans, a kind of antibiotic, in food could cause cancer in experimental animals, but there was currently insufficient evidence to prove that they caused cancer in humans.
He said Hong Kong had banned the use of nitrofuran-related antibiotics as veterinary drugs in food animals, with the policy extended to traces detected in the muscle, meat, or offal of any food animals.
The centre said it had been sampling shrimp products at import and retail levels for testing, and had also stepped up surveillance and sampling of such food items.


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News

Hong Kong

Fast food chain removes all Ebi Burger products from menu in city temporarily to address potential public concern


Fast food chain removes all Ebi Burger products from menu in city temporarily to address potential public concern.


McDonald's

Taiwan

McDonald’s Hong Kong pulls shrimp burgers after Taiwan detects antibiotic residue

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Fast food chain removes all Ebi Burger products from menu in city temporarily to address potential public concern

Fast food chain removes all Ebi Burger products from menu in city temporarily to address potential public concern