Shanghai food watchdog targets foreign firms in meat clean-up

Shanghai is singling out foreign fast-food chains in its stepped-up efforts to strengthen oversight of meat suppliers, a fresh sign that a food safety scandal involving a US company could worsen problems for overseas businesses on the mainland.

The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration said last weekend that five foreign fast-food chains caught up in a rotten meat scare had to publish the names and information of their meat suppliers online for public scrutiny. Those five companies were McDonald's, Yum Brands, Burger King, Dicos and Carl's Jr, all of which have complied with the orders. Papa John's Pizza was also told to release the details and was in the process of doing so, an officer from the administration said.

"The policy was aimed at only foreign companies - domestic food suppliers have yet to be required to do so," the officer said.

The orders are part of the fallout from a Dragon TV report late last month accusing Shanghai Husi Food, a subsidiary of Illinois-based OSI Group, of mixing expired meat with fresh supplies and then forging production dates before selling the goods to restaurants.

Shanghai police arrested five Husi executives and set up a special task force to investigate the case.

A policeman involved in the probe told the that the case was viewed as "a sensitive issue" because it involved an American firm. Shanghai Communist Party boss Han Zheng was also paying close attention to the investigation.