KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 – McDonald’s Arabia announced that imports of halal chicken to its 369 restaurants across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region had reached 12,000 tonnes in 2012, a 12.3 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
This is due to an increase in the demand for chicken meals. In a statement, McDonald’s Arabia said imported chickens are prepared using strict halal procedures in Malaysia, which is the main exporter of high-quality halal chicken to all McDonald’s restaurants in the region.
It said that this information was revealed after a delegation from Kuwait visited Malaysia to observe the systems that McDonald’s imposed on suppliers to ensure that food is prepared based on halal procedures. These included visits to Malaysia’s Department of Islamic Development (Jakim), an official authority that supervises halal procedures, and two
certified halal slaughter houses where chickens are prepared daily under Jakim’s supervision and the Mac Food factory.
Meanwhile, Yousif Abdulghani, Managing Director of McDonald’s Middle East and Africa, said all products served in McDonald’s restaurants in the Middle East are halal as all ingredients are inspected and approved by local authorities and halal officers before export and by customs officials at ports of entry.
“Ensuring that all ingredients and produce are halal is McDonald’s top priority,” he said, adding that customers can be sure that the food they enjoy is halal, with the same taste worldwide. Since their launch in the GCC in 1993, the company has offered high quality halal food to all customers through qualified suppliers. It ensures 100 per cent supplier eligibility before adding any source to its database of approved suppliers.
Suppliers should adhere to social responsibility policies on animal welfare, animal feed, prohibition of deforestation, usage of antibiotics as growth promoters and halal procedures, the statement said. McDonald’s also offers an ‘open-door’ programme for the public to take a closer look at the quality standard of the products and procedures implemented at the restaurants. Halal certificates are displayed at McDonald’s restaurants and on the website — www.McDonaldsArabia.com.
BERNAMA
