The Maharashtra FDA has pushed down on fast food giant McDonald’s, accusing it of a cheesy fraud involving the use of replacements in burgers and nuggets instead of real cheese.
It has suspended the licence of a McDonald’s restaurant in Ahmednagar, forcing the business to remove the term “cheese” from a variety of goods. The FDA is pressing the chain to expand the corrective action state-wide and potentially nationally.
Cheese substitutes, also known as cheese analogues, are intended to have the same flavour, texture, and functioning as regular dairy cheese.
The putative alternatives, which have been found in various McDonald’s products, often replace milk or dairy fat with less expensive vegetable oils. The food authority has accused McDonald’s of using cheese analogues without sufficient disclosure on product labels or electronic display boards, “misleading” customers into believing they are eating real cheese.
According to FDA Commissioner Abhimanyu Kale, omitting such critical facts is blatantly deceptive to consumers and may have health ramifications. “During inspection, our officers did not find any mention of cheese analogues anywhere. Items like ‘cheese nuggets’, ‘cheesy dip’, and ‘cheese burger’ were being labelled as such without indicating that the cheese was a substitute,” he claimed.
“Most other fast food pizza and burger joints could be indulging in the same practice. We plan to investigate these chains as well,” he added.
The action against McDonald’s began in October with an examination of their Kedgaon outlet in Ahmednagar. The FDA issued a show-cause letter to the restaurant after identifying at least eight products containing cheese mimics. Despite McDonald’s appealed the action, the outlet’s licence was stopped because their explanation was judged inadequate.
