Preview

Mcdonalds Steps Up Bird Flu Precautions

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
398 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Mcdonalds Steps Up Bird Flu Precautions
The spread of bird flu has become a major cause for concern among food suppliers and restaurant chains. As a result, McDonald's is having its suppliers isolate free-range chickens in Europe. The company hopes that this measure will curb bird flu and ensure the eggs and chicken it serves in its more than 11,000 restaurants is not tainted, reports Reuters.

"We are now imposing standards which require that those free range chickens that are producing free-range eggs be brought into houses because of the threat of the spread of avian influenza," said Catherine Adams, Vice President of Worldwide Quality at McDonald's.

The standard has been in place for 6-8 months, and is meant to protect the birds producing eggs for McDonald's uses as well as those used for poultry servings. The move is somewhat controversial in parts of Europe because of the culture of raising free-range birds. Nonetheless, the world's largest restaurant business is exerting maximum effort to make sure its customers will still visit its restaurants in the event of a bird flu outbreak.

McDonald's is traditionally known for its burgers (billions and billions served), but chicken has become a huge source of the company's revenue. In the U.S., the company sold more chicken than beef on a dollar-per-dollar basis in 2005. The company has had its U.S. suppliers test flocks for bird flu for the past six months, which it claims is far easier than ensuring quality control abroad.

"In the U.S. we have vertical integration, the flocks are raised just for McDonald's, so we have total control over it," said Frank Muschetto, Senior V.P. and Chief Purchasing Officer.

In other countries, that is not necessarily the case. Every place where McDonalds is able to test, it tests the flocks for the influenza. But it is not always that simple. In parts of Europe, testing is administered by the government and only occurs then that particular government authorizes it.

McDonald's has actually enjoyed a good

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Mgt 230 Week 4 Paper

    • 1799 Words
    • 8 Pages

    McDonald's has successfully created a brand/name for itself as the leading fast food retailer in the world. It is somewhat of impossibility for one to not come across a McDonald's with over 30,000 local restaurants in over 100 countries (McDonald's, 2011). Those restaurants are owned either by a franchise owner or a corporation; a percentage of all the earnings from a franchise owner, including a percentage from their annual revenue go to McDonald's.…

    • 1799 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Vegans vs. Meateaters

    • 333 Words
    • 2 Pages

    feathery chickens that run wildly about, and the pink pigs that roll in the mud. We may also sing about that nice farmer, Old McDonald, and all of his nice animals. The truth is that Old McDonald with a straw hat has been replaced by a business man in the hard hat. Ninety-five percent of the meat we eat does not come from Old McDonald's farm. Hens, chickens, turkeys, and over half of beef cattle, dairy cows, and pigs come from an “animal factory" which is a mechanized environment. This new farming method finds blue skies, tall silos, and grassy hillsides good for calendars but, bad for business. Those pictures are not cost effective. Animals are not treated with the loving care of a farmer but, are treated like inmates on death row.…

    • 333 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Due to its renowned simplicity, consistency, and familiarity, McDonald’s has become a universal staple in everyday life since 1955.…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Unit 1 P6

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Food Hygiene - In both countries, McDonalds has to be very hygienic in order for the business to stay open and successful. The impact of an unhygienic restaurant would be catastrophic for the company’s image.…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    McDonald’s uses vertical integration to help reduce competition and make business more profitable just like Carnegie did. McDonald’s demonstrates both sides of vertical integration. They use backwards vertical integration by owning the farms where they get their beef, chicken, potatoes, and wheat from while also owning the processing factories that make all things from big macs to quarter pounders with cheese. They employ forwards vertical integration by owning the centers of distribution and the actual fast food restaurants. Since they use both these methods the McDonald’s corporation uses what is known as balanced vertical integration.…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Animal cruelty in the fast-food industry is a common problem that is violating animal rights. Since the fast food industries wanted to make more money, an easy way that they did that was by feeding them as quickly and cheaply as possible. Therefore, they feed them leftover meat, fat, blood and bones from other chicken slaughter house. The author’s Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson states “Chickens that die from a heart attacks have been stuck by “flip over disease”. It is most likely…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Food Inc Analysis

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Animals usually have a natural growing stage, a chicken's full growing cycle can take 65-70 days. With the help of science and technology meat producers reduce that to 45-50 days. Producers want to get these animals bigger and they want to that in a cheapest way and in a fast way. This makes the products unhealty.Many of the chickens that are in the farms of big companies never see sun light. The companies do not want media to see their food being processed and getting ready to enter the market because they know that the truth and reality of their meat will scare the customers away. The repercussions would be huge and that would significantly…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    McDonalds has been a leading fast-food chain in the restaurant industry since 1955. Not only have they created some of America’s favorite pastime foods, but also they’ve been a leading force in creating global change with innovative additions such as drive-thru restaurants, college credits from their Hamburger University to chicken McNuggets and more!…

    • 1715 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fast Food Nation Analysis

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The making of the McDonalds chicken Mc-nugget has dramatically turned around the poultry industry, and the way chickens are processed for food. The company Tyson is controlling most of the poultry distribution around the United States.…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Avian Influenza

    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The changes in land use and decreased wetland access for migrating fowl may lead to larger fowl densities, flock, stress, and closer proximity to domesticated flocks. It is also suggested that the climate such as changes in temperature or increased areas suffering from drought may have an impact. Migrating fowl tend to congregate where here is more water. Another impact on the environment is the increased consumption of chicken which has tripled between 1960 and 2002 (Vandegrift, 2010). With a higher demand for poultry production, farmers have increased the number of birds on their farms. With a larger poultry population in a smaller area, there is an increased potential for easier transmission between flocks and the possibility of the virus becoming an…

    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    * That statement means that they don’t think of chickens as animals anymore. Right from the moment they’re laid (as eggs), they are thought of as food. I completely disagree with the statement, and this might affect the way chickens are raised by the point of view of the workers and officials (and what have you). If we keep thinking that these chickens are not animals, but are merely food for ourselves and our consumers, the process of making chickens might become more inhumane as it evolves to become even more efficient.…

    • 2051 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Steiner goes on to say, that those people are blissfully ignorant to the truth, and “Chickens [and turkeys] may be labeled free-range even though they’ve never seen a speck of sunlight their entire lives,” (Steiner 7). The sad truth is; Steiner is not wrong. According to the organization, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, better known as PETA, say, “While free-range and organic egg farms are technically supposed to give birds outdoor access, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has decided that ‘they may be temporarily confined’ for ‘reasons of health, safety, the animal’s stage of production or to protect soil or water quality.’ Many free-range egg farms take full advantage of this loophole by almost never allowing the birds outside,” (“Animals Used for Free-Range and Organic Meat”). Many consumers are not aware of how liberally the term “free-range” is used and have images of their turkey running around in a sunny field and enjoying the fresh air when this is most often not the case. Steiner wanted to give people this knowledge so they can open their eyes to…

    • 858 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The disease Bird flu is basically caused by avian influenza viruses, which occur naturally among birds. Pandemic flu is flu that causes a global outbreak, or pandemic, of serious illness that spreads easily from person to person. The first officially announced bird flu outbreak in Bangladesh occurred in February 2007. Bird flu has been confirmed in at least 45 of Bangladesh's 64 districts and to check the spread of the virus, the Bangladesh government has raised compensation for poultry farmers to encourage them to report and kill sick birds as part of efforts to stamp out the outbreak. Nearly 600,000 birds have been culled across the country against the virus since March 2007, but it continues to spread and now covers nearly two-thirds of the country. No cases of human infection have been reported. Bangladesh recently tightened controls along its porous border with India, with authorities ordering officials to block all imports of poultry and eggs from that country. Bangladeshi government also has decided to ban import of chicks from four European countries — Turkey, Greece, Romania and Russia — where bird flu has broken out…

    • 1627 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Central Issue: Why is KFC not making any changes towards their poultry guidelines even after all the stunts and attacks by PETA?…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Slavery of Ivory Cost

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The birds are drugged for breeding and millions are scalded to death in de-featuring tanks.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays