US meat supplier to McDonald’s and KFC in China disputes court’s ‘unjust verdict’ over expired fast-food meat scandal
OSI Group considers appeal as Shanghai court fines two subsidiaries 1.2 million yuan and jails six staff after old chicken and beef sold to restaurants on mainland and in Hong Kong
A United States meat supplier is disputing a Chinese court’s verdict that its local subsidiary sold expired chicken and beef to McDonald’s, KFC and other fast-food restaurants on the mainland and in Hong Kong.
OSI Group, based in Aurora, in Illinois also said that it was considering appealing against what it called an “unjust verdict” by a Shanghai court on Monday, which fined two of its Chinese units and also jailed six employees.
READ MORE: Rotten-food-scandal-hit factory Shanghai Husi sacks 340 workers
Ten staff members were convicted of packaging out-of-date and substandard meat as new products, the court ruled, but four of them were given suspended jail sentences.
The scandal was exposed in 2014 by Shanghai’s Dragon TV station, which reported that OSI’s subsidiary had repackaged and sold old meat.
OSI staff had marked products with false expiration dates to “retrieve economic losses”, the court said.
It also added to the long list of Chinese product safety scandals over the past decade, including fake or adulterated goods such as baby milk powder and drugs that have sickened or killed infants, hospital patients and others.
READ MORE: Shanghai Husi rotten-meat scandal blows the lid on a huge problem for China’s food processing industry
Shanghai’s Jiading District People’s Court said it had fined both OSI subsidiaries Shanghai Husi Foods and Hebei Husi Foods 1.2 million yuan (US$182,000).
OSI China general manager, Yang Liqun, was sentenced to three years in prison and also fined 100,000 yuan after being convicted of packaging out-of-date and substandard meat. Yang, who is an Australian citizen, was also ordered to be deported.
It was not clear whether he would serve time in jail or be immediately deported.
The court jailed another five people convicted of the same charge for between two years and eight months to 19 months and fined them between 80,000 yuan and 30,000 yuan. Four other employees were also convicted, but received suspended jail sentences .
READ MORE: McDonald’s Hong Kong imported meat from factory at centre of rotten food scandal
“After an actual investigation was completed, all authorities involved have recognised that this case has never been about food safety,” OSI said in a statement.
“The verdict is inconsistent with the facts and evidence that were presented in the court proceedings.”
The company added that it was “forced to consider an appeal through all legal channels” and was also weighing up legal action against Dragon TV.
Additional reporting Agence France-Presse
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