Russia's Tasty And That's It Has Unwanted Extras In Its Hamburgers
In the past few months, since the invasion of Ukraine, companies have taken a stand by removing their business from Russia in support of, and in solidarity with, the war torn nation. According to The New York Times, franchises range from media conglomerates like Bloomberg and Netflix to accounting firms and food establishments like Little Caesars, Heineken, Starbucks, and McDonald's.
One of the latter companies to adapt by closing locations, McDonald's made a huge change to its Russian restaurants when it announced the closure and removal of their iconic golden arches a few weeks after fighting began. Another company that bought McDonald's Russian holdings then created its own version with a different name but the same McDonald's flavors, per Business Insider. With the purchase, came a few necessary changes to differentiate the new stores from McDonald's and remove proprietary issues that could put them at legal risk of mimicking trademark items. But it seems some of their changes came with some lackluster and unappetizing results, namely bugs and mold.
Would you like some flies with that?
The New York Post claims that items from the new Russian chain Tasty and That's It purportedly contain some additional unsavory elements beyond the usual toppings. It goes on to quote a Russian TV personality, Ksenia Sobchak, who called attention to the fact that the new restaurant's food may not be up to par — namely, that there have already been multiple alleged cases of burgers with mold. The Daily Mail reported on these instances, noting other customers also found insect legs in their food. Patrons also complained about expired sauces as well as less meat in the chain's cheeseburgers.
Despite the fact that this new chain "still has access to many of the same ingredients used to make the signature menu items," the standards with which employees evaluate the items and clean their stores are reportedly lacking. As Sobchak notes, this new establishment does not seem to "honor the standards of McDonald's, at least in terms of product quality control" (via The New York Post). Here's hoping the media attention turns that around.