McDonald’s®
USA Gives Moms Unprecedented Access to Learn How Chicken McNuggets®
Are Made
Real Moms go from farm to restaurant during exclusive supplier
visit
ATLANTA (Business Wire EON) June 12, 2008 --
Recently, the Moms’ Quality Correspondents
became the first customers to tour a McDonald’s
U.S. poultry facility for Chicken McNuggets and other premium chicken
menu items. The tour took place at Keystone Foods, which has been a
McDonald’s supplier partner since 1969 and
helped develop the first Chicken McNugget in the early 1980’s.
The Moms were granted unprecedented access to learn how their families’
favorite chicken menu items are made, including Chicken McNuggets and
the new Southern Style Chicken Biscuit and Sandwich.
“My kids are big fans of Chicken McNuggets,"
said Monica Fuentes, Moms’ Quality
Correspondent and mother of three children ages eight, five and three. “Before
the tour, I had been told that McDonald's Chicken McNuggets are made
with all white meat but I wanted to learn more about the entire
production process to feel better about the food I'm feeding my family.”
Throughout the tour, the Moms met with McDonald’s
Supply Chain and Quality Assurance teams, as well as experts from
Keystone Foods who support the fully integrated process from farm to
fork.
“We were thrilled to host the Moms at one of
our poultry facilities," said Keith Lewis, senior vice president of
Keystone Food's poultry division. "The Moms saw how we work hand-in-hand
with McDonald's Quality Assurance team to ensure that high-quality
chicken menu items like Chicken McNuggets are delivered to their local
McDonald's restaurants every day.”
Beginning their tour at Keystone’s hatchery,
the Moms learned about food quality and safety protocols, including
incubation operations and traceability - the process used to trace
chicken menu items in restaurants all the way back to the egg. They also
learned about McDonald’s stringent animal
welfare practices in place to ensure safe handling of the birds. The
Moms then visited a broiler farm to witness how the chickens are cared
for, fed and nurtured until fully grown. Keystone Foods representatives
also discussed with the Moms the bio-security measures that are taken to
ensure McDonald's strict food safety standards are met.
On the second day of the tour, the Moms visited the food production
facility where they saw first-hand how the meat used to make Chicken
McNuggets is carved from boneless, white meat chicken breasts. The same
white meat is used in all McDonald's premium chicken menu items
including Premium Chicken Salads and Sandwiches as well as Snack Wraps®.
To ensure consistent quality, all McDonald's chicken products undergo
continuous sensory testing - a comprehensive quality monitoring process
that ensures McDonald's high standards are being achieved throughout the
manufacturing process. Chicken McNuggets, for example, are sampled every
hour for quality and safety evaluations. New products like Southern
Style Chicken are tested every half hour. Each of the Moms had an
opportunity to conduct their own sensory testing of the Chicken
McNuggets, including the best part of the evaluation - tasting.
Throughout the tour, representatives from Keystone Foods discussed their
compliance to McDonald’s quality
expectations, which requires all supply chain partners to agree to a
series of yearly, independent third-party audits.
“Seeing is believing.”
concluded Fuentes. “McDonald's and its
supplier partners have the highest standards when it comes to food
safety. It was reassuring to see the quality of the meat they use for
Chicken McNuggets.”
The Moms who participated in the trip will post videos, photos and
journal entries chronicling their experience on www.mcdonaldsmoms.com.
Consumers can register to join the McDonald’s
online Quality Community to receive regular updates from the Moms'
Quality Correspondents and submit their own questions.
About the McDonald's Moms Quality Correspondents
The Moms' Quality Correspondents (MQC) are a group of everyday moms who
go behind-the-scenes to explore the quality and nutritional value of
McDonald’s menu items, and share what they
learn with other moms and interested parties. In 2008 their trips
include a McDonald's chicken supplier, a visit to a Ronald McDonald House®,
and a visit to a McDonald’s potato supplier
to learn about McDonald’s World Famous French
Fries®. Earlier this
year the MQC met with nutritionists, innovation and operations experts,
food quality executives, and restaurant owner operators. For more
information about the MQC, visit www.mcdonaldsmoms.com.
About McDonald’s & Chicken
McDonald's quality chicken offerings come from trusted, dedicated
suppliers including Keystone Foods and Tyson. McDonald's works closely
with all of its chicken suppliers to ensure stringent food quality and
safety standards are followed to deliver high-quality chicken products
in our restaurants, everyday.
About McDonald’s
McDonald's USA, LLC is the leading foodservice provider in the United
States serving a variety of wholesome foods made from quality
ingredients to millions of customers every day. More than 80 percent of
McDonald's 13,700 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated
by local franchisees. For more information about McDonald's visit www.mcdonalds.com.
© 2008 McDonald’s
ELECTRONIC PRESS KIT: www.mcdepk.com/mqc
MULTIMEDIA GALLERY http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5708285
Post Comment:
Trackback URL: http://eon.businesswire.com/pingpr.php/VGhpci1TdW1tLUhhbGYtTG92ZS1Qcm9mLVplcm8=
Bookmark -
Del.icio.us |
Digg |
Furl It |
Spurl |
RawSugar |
Simpy |
Shadows |
Blink It |
My Web
|
