China's meat scandal probe expands nationwide

China's food quality watchdog has launched a nationwide investigation into a meat scandal involving a supplier of several fast food chains.

The State Food and Drug Administration is asking local authorities in the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Guangdong and Yunnan to investigate all the food factories with investments by U.S. food supplier OSI Group.

Local media reports are alleging one of its units, Shanghai Husi Foods, reprocessed and supplied expired meat products to a number of fast-food chains, including McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut.

The Shanghai municipal government has already suspended the operations of Husi.

The Guangdong branch of Yum, the parent company of Pizza Hut and KFC, has sealed-up some 13-thousand kilograms of meat supplies from Husi, and has told all its Pizza Hut outlets in the province to seal up its meat supplies from the company.

OSI has close to 60 processing facilities worldwide, with revenues of more than 5 billion US dollars in 2012.

The company has been supplying McDonald's in China since 1992 and Yum since 2008.

Both Yum and McDonald's have issued an apology, saying they have stopped using the supplier and have switched to alternative sources.