"We deeply apologize for having caused considerable inconvenience and concern," Takehiko Aoki, senior vice president of the company, said at a press conference. President Sarah Casanova was not present at the news conference due to a business trip.
The Japanese unit of the world's biggest fast-food chain admitted there were several cases in recent months in which customers had found objects such as bits of vinyl or plastic in a Chicken McNugget and other products sold at outlets in different parts of the country.
"These cases will not cause serious health problems," Aoki added.
In one incident, a child suffered a slight cut in the mouth caused by a 2 to 3 centimeter piece of plastic in a Chocolate Sundae sold at an outlet in Fukushima Prefecture on Dec. 19. McDonald's Japan said the problem was due to a faulty dessert machine and the restaurant had stopped using it.
It was also learned Tuesday that a customer in Osaka Prefecture had complained in August of a small object in fries that was later found to be a human tooth. The company said it is unlikely that the tooth had dropped into the fries during preparation.
The latest scandal is another blow to McDonald's Japan, already struggling with falling sales following a food-safety scandal last summer involving a Chinese-based meat supplier caught relabeling expired meat and breaching other rules.
The company has since halted all imports of chicken products from China, switching its sourcing to Thailand.
But the contaminated nugget, found in Aomori Prefecture on Saturday, had been produced at a Thai plant.
Nuggets produced on the same manufacturing line at the plant were delivered to restaurants in a total of 14 prefectures, including Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, and 99 percent have already been sold, the company said.
In October, McDonald's Japan projected it would log a 17 billion yen ($142.7 million) net loss for 2014, its first swing to the red in 11 years, compared with a net profit of 5.14 billion yen for 2013.
The company has said it is investing in measures to improve product quality, such as unannounced audits of suppliers and distribution of more food-quality information to customers.
Customers showed a mixed reaction to the latest scandal.
"I'm a bit scared and hope they will quickly tell us the cause," said a woman, 63, who often visits a McDonald's restaurant in Tokyo where a piece of vinyl was found in a nugget on Dec. 31. She only had coffee Wednesday.
A 65-year-old office worker said, "We won't die even if we eat them. The number of customers may decline but I think they will come back in six months." He added he will continue to use the restaurant.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
