MOSCOW, August 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's consumer rights watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said Wednesday it had suspended operations at four McDonald's restaurants in Moscow after numerous violations of sanitary regulations had been found at popular fast food outlets.
"Inspections of other outlets pertaining to this chain will continue," the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection said in a statement.
"We are closely studying the subject of the documents to define what should be done to re-open the restaurants as soon as possible. Our main priority is to serve our customers with top quality and safe products," according to the statement made by the company
In July, Moscow’s Tverskoi Court spokesperson said last week the court could ban the production of McDonald’s cheeseburgers, Royal Cheeseburgers, Filet-o-Fish sandwiches, Chicken Burgers, as well as milkshakes and ice cream with fruit toppings.
The consumer watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said that McDonald’s products contain more fat, protein and carbohydrates than are allowed by the country’s “technological norms.”
Health and consumer groups have in the past criticized McDonald’s for its menu and business practices.
Earlier this year, McDonald’s had to remove certain products from its Chinese menu when the company found out that its supplier was using rotten meat.
The McDonald’s corporation, founded in 1940, is the world’s largest fast-food chain. It has more than 35,000 outlets in 119 countries. McDonald's annual revenue exceeded $28 billion in 2013.
As of 2014, 424 of the chain’s branches operate in Russia. However, according to a poll conducted by SuperJob’s Research Center, 62 percent of Russian respondents would support the closure of all McDonald’s restaurants in Russia.
