Bread falls on the floor and is still used—who would dare to eat at such a McDonald's?
Compiled from The Paper
Case review
On July 11, a staff member at a McDonald's restaurant in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, put bread that had fallen on the floor back on the shelf, attracting attention, and the related topic became a trending search.
A video circulating online shows that in the kitchen of a McDonald's restaurant, an employee picked up bread that had fallen on the floor and placed it back on the shelf. The person who filmed the video said that there were many staff members in the kitchen, but each was busy with their own tasks.
On the 12th, The Paper learned from the Guangzhou Municipal Market Supervision Bureau that after the incident, the bureau filed a case to investigate the restaurant involved. For the issues of irregular handling operations by the restaurant's employees, law enforcement personnel provided on-site corrective education and ordered rectification, and also carried out enterprise responsibility interviews and comprehensive supervision inspections. At present, the restaurant involved has voluntarily closed for rectification.
[5] Food Safety Law
Article 4
Food producers and operators are responsible for the safety of the food they produce and operate.
Food producers and operators shall engage in production and business activities in accordance with laws, regulations, and food safety standards, ensuring food safety, practicing honesty and self-discipline, being responsible to society and the public, accepting social supervision, and bearing social responsibility.
[1] The author's perspective
In fact, this is not the first time McDonald's has made headlines due to food safety issues. As a globally popular fast-food chain, McDonald's has also maintained a strong presence in the Chinese market. Last October, a customer discovered that McDonald's had poured ice cream that had not been taken away in time back into the machine for reuse. Additionally, kitchen hygiene issues are frequently exposed, indicating that McDonald's has consistently had non-compliant practices regarding food hygiene. For such issues concerning the health and lives of consumers, we cannot turn a blind eye; we should fulfill our supervisory responsibilities, which is being responsible for ourselves as well as for others.
More importantly, relevant departments need to strictly strengthen supervision in accordance with laws and regulations. Food service operators must improve their food safety management systems, establish sound supervision mechanisms, and refine food safety training content, enhancing the training and education of practitioners to further improve the food safety awareness and sense of responsibility of all personnel. Only in this way can consumers' food safety be ensured, thereby achieving a positive cycle in the industry.
