Police Investigate McDonald's Over Controversy of Reusing Expired Bread

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The police have launched an investigation into McDonald's for reusing expired food ingredients.

On the 17th, according to the police, the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul is investigating Mr. A, the representative of McDonald's Korea, on charges including violation of the Food Sanitation Act.

Earlier, allegations arose that a McDonald's store in Seoul reused food ingredients that were supposed to be discarded by placing date stickers over buns and other items past their own expiration dates.

In response, McDonald's Korea issued apologies on the 4th and 6th, stating, "As a result of an internal investigation, it was found that expired stickers were reprinted and attached." However, they explained, "The internally set expiration date (secondary expiration date) is McDonald's own quality control standard to maintain and provide raw material quality at a higher level, and is set shorter than the generally known shelf life (primary expiration date)."

A police official said, "We received the case from the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on the 13th," adding, "We plan to carefully review whether the distribution period regulations under the Food Sanitation Act can be applied to McDonald's own expiration dates."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.