There is a bad news for those who love to eat at McDonald’s because the company has issued a warning for its customers that they may suffer from health problems if they eat at its outlets in north and east India which are presently being operated by Connaught Plaza Restaurants (CPRL).
CPRL is a joint-venture partner of McDonald’s and it was authorised to run 160 outlets in east and north India but 84 outlets out of 160 have already been closed.
The spokesperson of McDonald’s India stated that these outlets need to be closed as soon as possible as they don’t follow the global standards of the fast food chain.
As per a report published in TOI, the 84 outlets have been closed because Radhakrishna Foodland, the logistics partner of CPRL, has stopped rendering its services over the matter of non-payment of their dues.
The spokesperson told TOI,
“Since the termination of the franchise agreements, McDonald’s India has not been able to verify if the unauthorized McDonald’s restaurants operated by CPRL are complying with applicable McDonald’s standards, including those pertaining to supplies, operations and safety standards and quality required for McDonald’s products.”
McDonald’s terminated the franchise agreement with CPRL in August and now they both are facing each other in the court. However, CPRL still decided to keep on running the eateries despite the fact that many suppliers also chose to stop doing business with it.
Vikram Bakshi, the MD of CPRL, has claimed that a new distribution partner has already been selected and it is even larger than Radhakrishna Foodland. He told,
“The logistics partner, ColdEX, has been chosen very carefully by the CPRL team after thorough due diligence. ColdEX is the national distribution partner to major food brands like Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, KFC and is funded by ACP, the front arm of ADB, ORIX and Robeco.”
The warning was issued by McDonald’s even before Vikram spoke about the new distribution partner while the spokesperson of McDonald’s made it clear that any unknown distribution centre is not authorised to supply in the McDonald’s system.
In his reaction, Vikram Bakshi, also questioned the fast food chains intention of following global safety and hygiene norms and claimed that CPRL did bring up this matter in the past but McDonald’s didn’t listen to it. He said,
“It is indeed ironic that the conscience of McDonald’s has suddenly awakened to quality and food safety in India.”
So, will you visit McDonald’s now?