McDonald’s Hong Kong pulls shrimp burgers after Taiwan detects antibiotic residue
Fast food chain removes all Ebi Burger products from menu in city temporarily to address potential public concern
McDonald’s has temporarily removed its popular Ebi Burger series from its menu in Hong Kong as a “precautionary measure”, following a similar suspension in Taiwan due to food safety concerns, despite the shrimp patties used in the local items coming from a different production batch.
Taiwan McDonald’s announced on Thursday morning that it had immediately suspended sales of the “Ebi Burger” and the “Double Ebi Burger” after an importer notified it the night before that random batch testing on the shrimp patties used in the products found 0.7 ppb (parts per billion) of nitrofurans and their chemical residues, which did not comply with food safety regulations.
Nitrofurans are a class of synthetic antibiotics banned in many countries.
The Taiwan operator apologised and said it would refund customers who purchased the products on Wednesday and Thursday.
A check of McDonald’s app in Hong Kong on Thursday showed that the Ebi Burger, the Double Ebi Burger and the Ebi Burger with Pineapple were all currently unavailable.
In a media response, McDonald’s Hong Kong said it temporarily removed all Ebi Burger and related products from its menu as a “precautionary measure” to address potential public concern.