According to the clean chit, McDonald’s India (W&S) will continue to use the term “cheese” in the titles of its cheese-containing items.
Westlife Foodworld, which owns a chain of McDonald’s restaurants in west and south India, announced on Tuesday that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has certified the cheese used by McDonald’s India as ‘100% real cheese’.
Westlife Foodworld shares increased by more than 6% following the FSSAI verification. The stock rose 6.6% to ₹785.00 on the BSE.
The FSSAI affirmation expressly states that “Articles in question contain cheese or cheese product as a part of the composition and do not contain analog in dairy context in any form,” according to a regulatory filing by Westlife Foodworld.
Along with this, McDonald’s India (West & South) obtained the results of the tests conducted by a NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) accredited lab yesterday, verifying the usage of 100% Real Cheese in its products, the company said.
According to the clean chit, McDonald’s India (W&S) will continue to use the term “cheese” in the titles of its cheese-containing items.
The fast food giant had previously briefly removed the word “cheese” from its menu in Maharashtra in response to allegations that it uses cheese replacements in some burgers and nuggets.
“The clean chit we received from FSSAI, India’s leading food safety standards authority, confirms that our goods include 100% real cheese acquired from world-renowned sources. Recent tests undertaken by NABL-accredited labs corroborate this, as well as the fact that our products include no cheese analogs or substitutions,” stated Saurabh Kalra, MD of McDonald’s India (W&S).
The Maharashtra Food & Drugs Administration (FDA) suspended the license of a McDonald’s outlet in Ahmednagar in the December quarter, citing claims that the chain’s McCheese burger violates local food standards and that several items on the menu use cheese substitutes without proper labeling.
Westlife Foodworld shares were 6.45% higher at ₹783.60 a share on the BSE at 2:50 pm.
The fast food chain’s restaurant had come under fire from the FDA for allegedly putting a “cheese-like” product in their dishes without mentioning that it was a cheese substitute, misleading customers, he claimed.
Following an inspection and subsequent objections, the outlet’s licence was suspended, but it was recently revoked after the chain produced a compliance report confirming the removal of the word ‘cheese’ from product titles.
According to the clean chit, McDonald’s India (W&S) has preserved the term “cheese” in the labels of its cheese-containing items and remains committed to transparency and consumer trust.
