McDonald's Taiwan has suspended sales of its popular new fried shrimp burger and the double fried shrimp burger after imported shrimp patties used in the products were found to contain a non-compliant level of nitrofuran and its metabolites.
McDonald's Hong Kong said Thursday (Aug. 13) that it was closely monitoring the situation and had also suspended sales of the series as a precaution.
McDonald's Taiwan said it was notified by its importer on the evening of Aug. 12 that the imported shrimp patties used in the two products, despite being accompanied by seafood ingredient inspection documents issued by the manufacturer certifying that they met the required standards, were subsequently found through independent sampling to contain 0.7 parts per billion (ppb) of "nitrofuran and its metabolites," a synthetic antibiotic, which does not comply with food safety regulations.
McDonald's said it had stopped using the shrimp patties and suspended sales of the two products at all restaurants across Taiwan from 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 13. It is currently conducting re-testing with its suppliers and testing agencies.
McDonald's Hong Kong said Thursday afternoon that it was closely monitoring developments surrounding McDonald's Taiwan's temporary suspension of sales of the fried shrimp burger.
The Hong Kong operation said it had immediately contacted McDonald's global supplier in Thailand for verification and confirmed that the shrimp patties used in the series currently sold in HK were made using a different formulation and came from different batches than those used by McDonald's Taiwan.
McDonald's Hong Kong stressed that it has always strictly complied with local food safety regulations.
To address public concerns and reassure customers, McDonald's Hong Kong said it had immediately suspended sales of related products as a precautionary measure.
Earlier, some HK users said on social media that McDonald's outlets in the city had removed the shrimp burger products from sale.
DotDotNews reporter found on the McDonald's HK app that shrimp-patty products were marked as "currently unavailable" and could not be purchased.
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