HKSAR govt mulls action against McDonald's

An official of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said on Wednesday that her bureau was working with the Department of Justice to see if any action could be taken against McDonald's which was recently involved in a rotten meat scandal.

Under Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan made the remarks after lawmakers on the Legislative Council's Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene asked her if the government would prosecute or issue a warning against the fast food chain.

Legislator Michael Tien said that in any case, existing laws were too lax to punish the company.

Lawmakers from across the political spectrum also condemned McDonald's for not attending the panel meeting to explain the incident. Lawmaker Ray Chan accused the restaurant chain of trying to dodge scrutiny and attempting to let the matter die down.

Chinese food and industry watchdogs have decided to launch a joint probe into Husi's parent company OSI China, a U.S.-based food supplier for major customers such as McDonald's and KFC- parent Yum Brands, among many others.

The group has been targeted after its unit Shanghai Husi was reported to be offering expired meat to fast food chains such as McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut in China.