Are McDonald’s fries even made of potatoes? Why are there 17 ingredients in its fries? The fast-food giant lifted the veil on its fry production line and ingredient list Tuesday to dispel myths about one of its most popular items in two new videos. The fry tour is the latest in a series of segments with former MythBusters star Grant[Read More…]
Fast Food/Quick Service Restaurants
The first potato-chip sandwich café
Crisps—otherwise known as potato chips—aren’t just for snacking anymore. The world’s first “crisp sandwich” café opened, where customers can gorge on sandwiches made out of something different from the regular ham and cheese. Inspired by an article on parody news website The Ulster Fry, Simply Crispy in Belfast, Northern Ireland opened its doors on Monday. The pop-up café has already[Read More…]
New Zealand: Potato shortage has upside in Southland
A nationwide potato shortage is leaving some chip-lovers pining for their favourite flavours, with some Southland supermarkets posting notices in chip aisles apologising for supply shortages. However, one Southland company is making up for a shortage of fresh potatoes in the central North Island – and tip-toeing into exporting fresh potatoes to Asia. More
Venezuela’s bizarre response to McDonald’s running out of french fries
Venezuela’s leaders aren’t taking the ongoing McDonald’s french fry shortage in their country too well. Publicly sponsored news outlets, government officials, and even the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, have all responded to McDonald’s unthinkable french fry shortage, which spans all 100 outlets in the country, by publicly criticizing the chain, and its french fries. One of the loudest responses came[Read More…]
McDonald’s Japan sales slide 21% on fries shortage
The operator of McDonald’s in Japan said today that same-store sales plunged 21% in December from a year earlier after it was hit by a shortage of french fries. McDonald’s Holdings Co (Japan) restricted sales of chips to small servings only from December 17 up to January 4, as a labour dispute at US West Coast ports delayed imports. In a new blow,[Read More…]
McDonald’s Japan probes tooth in fries, nuggets
McDonald’s Corp.’s Japan business said a human tooth was found in fries, and plastics in chicken nuggets and sundae, in a series of food-safety issues that happened in the past six months. The affected nuggets, supplied by Cargill Inc.’s Thai unit, were sold at two outlets in Japan, including one in Tokyo, according to spokesman Takashi Hasegawa. The fast-food chain[Read More…]
McDonald’s fries near extinction in Venezuela
Traditional potato chips from the menus of fast-food chain McDonald’s are set to disappear from Venezuelan franchises in 2015, as a result of widespread shortages being experienced in the country ruled by Nicolás Maduro. There has yet to be an official announcement from the company, but a franchise manager has confirmed that McDonald’s is struggling to import the fries. Source:[Read More…]
US: McDonald’s intensifies marketing strategy to push up declining sales
Barely three weeks before the largest hamburger chain in the world is due to present a report of its earnings over the fourth quarter of 2014, McDonald’s Corp. has upped its marketing ante. The new set of ads which underline the ‘love’ in its extremely popular “I’m Lovin’ It” tagline comes at a time when the chain is going through[Read More…]
Emergency airlift puts fries back on the menu at McDonald’s in Japan
McDonald’s has said an emergency airlift of French fries to Japan has eased the nationwide shortage that forced the chain to ration them at more than 3,000 restaurants across the country. From 5 January, medium and large-sized fries will be back on the menu, almost three weeks after the fast-food giant restricted customers to small portions due to import delays.[Read More…]
Japanese ‘mega potato’ wiped out by McDonald’s’ Far East spud shortage
McDonald’s customers in Japan are facing life with smaller fry portions to go with their red snow crab croquette burgers as the company attempts to sort out problems with the potato supply chain that links its two biggest markets. A shortage of United States-grown potato imports means it has been forced to ration fries by limiting customers to just the[Read More…]
McDonald’s has to ration fries in Japan
McDonald’s has been forced to ration its french fries in Japan due to a severe shortage of imported U.S. potatoes. Medium and large fry orders won’t be available until at least early next year, forcing Japanese customers to cope with tiny bags of fries until then. “We will temporarily change our product lineup…until a stable supply of potatoes is in[Read More…]
Why McDonald’s is only selling small servings of fries in Japan
Potato shortages are putting McDonald’s customers in Japan on an unsolicited diet. McDonald’s is now only offering small servings of fries in Japan due to a fry shortage in the country, reports Kotaku. The shortage is due to ongoing labor contract disputes with dockworkers on the West Coast of the U.S. The shortage has been a months-long problem for the[Read More…]
What does McDonald’s have to do to stop its downward spiral?
After months and months of depressing earnings reports, one question must be on every McDonald’s exec’s mind: How on earth can we turn things around? Same-store sales fell 2.2 percent globally and 4.6 percent in the U.S. in November, McDonald’s reported on Monday. The chain hasn’t seen any growth in U.S. sales for over a year. How can the fast-food[Read More…]
Japan: Airlifting french fries to ease shortage
Restaurants in Japan are rushing to secure supplies of french fries after shipment delays from the US, with one chain readying to airlift 200 tons of chips. Giants of the fast food and “family restaurant” sectors, which serve Western style meals with a Japanese twist, are dependent on imports, Kyodo News reported, citing the chains and the Japan External Trade[Read More…]
Prediction: McDonald’s will adopt eco-friendly GMO potato
On Friday, November 7, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cleared the path to commercialization for a “genetically modified” potato developed by J.R. Simplot. This is big. This is very big. It’s big for a host of reasons, but at the top of the list is one: French fries. Some news stories have reported that McDonald’s won’t be buying Simplot’s[Read More…]
McDonald’s transparency campaign failing with the McRib and french fries, why is that?
Earlier this year, McDonald’s started to suffer the after-effects for the lack of transparency when it comes to their food. The True Activist provided insight on the two popular McDonald’s products with details why they are either omitted or generalized in the campaign. The first is McDonald’s french fries. If these fries are truly organic and healthy, they would consist[Read More…]
McDonald’s won’t buy Simplot’s GMO potato
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved Idaho-based J.R. Simplot Co.’s new genetically modified potato. But one of the company’s oldest business partners — McDonald’s — hasn’t. The fast-food giant says it doesn’t use genetically modified potatoes, the Idaho Statesman reported. “McDonald’s USA does not source GMO potatoes, nor do we have current plans to change our sourcing practices,” the[Read More…]
McDonald’s rejects Simplot’s genetically modified potato
The J.R. Simplot Co.’s freshly approved genetically modified potato is not being welcomed by one of the company’s oldest business partners. McDonald’s, the world’s largest fast-food company and a longtime buyer of Simplot potatoes for french fries, says it doesn’t plan to buy Simplot’s latest genetically modified organism, the Innate potato. “McDonald’s USA does not source GMO potatoes, nor do[Read More…]
McDonald’s to enter new market of Kazakhstan in 2015
McDonald’s today announced that it will open restaurants in Kazakhstan in 2015, in conjunction with a local developmental licensee, Kairat Boranbayev. Kazakhstan is McDonald’s 120th global market and the 39th market that will be managed as a part of McDonald’s Europe. The first McDonald’s restaurant in Kazakhstan is expected to open during the second half of 2015. It will be[Read More…]
US: Will new genetically-modified potato gain respectability?
Federal agricultural regulators have approved a new genetically modified potato for American farmers to grow that’s aimed at the fast-food market. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision involved the potato identified as Innate, developed by the J.R. Simplot Company, a major supplier to McDonald’s. Innate it is the first GMO potato approved by the USDA that wasn’t created by[Read More…]
McDonald’s China: no GM potatoes
McDonald’s China has denied that it has imported or used genetically engineered potatoes after the US Department of Agriculture approved a genetically modified (GM) potato developed by a McDonald’s supplier. “McDonald’s China does not use genetically modified potatoes. The potatoes that McDonald’s China uses are in line with the national laws and regulations,” the public relations department of McDonald’s China[Read More…]
‘Innate Potato’ heads for market but GM watchdogs chip away at Simplot success
Americans may soon be eating high-tech potatoes, after a genetically engineered (GE) spud that makers say resists bruising and reduces a possible carcinogen was approved by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday. The Innate Potato, a trademarked creation of Simplot, has DNA from other potatoes spliced into its own, through a process called RNA interference technology. The USDA[Read More…]
Simplot’s gmo potato approved by the USDA
A potato genetically engineered to eliminate a potentially harmful ingredient that emerges in the high heat required for French fries and potato chips has been approved for commercial planting, the Department of Agriculture announced Friday. The potato’s DNA has been altered so that less of acrylamide is produced when the potato is fried. Acrylamide has been shown to cause cancer[Read More…]
Editor & Publisher: Lukie Pieterse
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