Russian authorities are executing more safety checks on the expanding McDonald's group of restaurants in the country in their continuing crackdown of the American fast food chain. To date, there have already been four branches that have been shutdown in Moscow as the Food Safety Agency cited violations against multiple sanitary laws.
Natalya Lukyantseva, an official from the regional office of the agency in Sverdlovsk said that the safety checks are "being carried out in a number of restaurants in the Ural region in central Russia due to customer complaints." These incidents came on the heels of the currently strained relations between Russia and the United States over the situation in Ukraine.
A representative from Amrest, the holder of the Russian franchise other US brands like KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, and Starbucks, said that they have not been experiencing similar problems for these other establishments. CEO and president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, Alexis Rodzianko, has addressed the McDonald's situation earlier, saying that, "Obviously, it's driven by the political issues surrounding Ukraine. The question on my mind is, is this going to be a knock on the door, or is this going to be the beginning of the campaign?"
Management teams of the McDonald's stores whose operations have been temporarily suspended release and announcement on their websites on Wednesday saying that they were doing everything that they can "for a speedy opening." A spokesperson also told reporters that contrary to the evidences being flung at them, their aim still remains to be the service of "top quality food" and that it is still their " main priority." No further comments were made about the issue.
The McDonald's fast food restaurants first opened for business in Russia in the year 1990. It has now expanded to over 400 establishments across the country and has about 12,000 people under its employment.
