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McDonald’s offers additional checks into its outlets in Russia

Snap inspections of the chain's outlets by Russia’s food safety watchdog from August 18-20 revealed many violations of sanitary regulations

© ITAR-TASS/Artyom Geodakyan

MOSCOW, September 15. /ITAR-TASS/. McDonald’s goobal foodservice retailer has initiated additional checks into its outlets in Russia following snap inspections in August in which several restaurants were temporarily closed, Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets told reporters on Monday.

“As of today, McDonald’s company has come out with an offer to make additional checks into a number of its outlets, even those that did not fall under the restrictions before,” Golodets said.

Snap inspections of the chain's outlets by Russia’s Rospotrebnadzor food safety watchdog from August 18-20 revealed many violations of sanitary regulations.

Locations under scrutiny included the restaurant on Moscow's Pushkin Square, which McDonald's says is the busiest in its global network. It was the first to open in Russia, in 1990, seen as a symbol that the Cold War was ending.

In the latest development, restaurants of the McDonald's fast-food chain were being targeted in unscheduled inspections by Russian hygiene standards officers in the city of Ryazan on Monday. "Public catering establishments will be checked in compliance with requirements of existing legislation," said Natalia Grishkova, speaking for supervisory agency Rospotrebnadzor.

Inspectors visiting locations across the city will check compliance with sanitary and epidemiological rules and consumer protection regulations.

Nobody is planning to ban this fast food chain. Necessary checks will be made and sanitary norms will be brought back in order, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier.

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