Four McDonald’s restaurants in Moscow have been ordered by Russian courts to close for 90 days, citing breaches of sanitary rules.
The restaurants were initially told to close on August 21 after criticism from the Russian state food safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor.
McDonald’s had been hoping to re-open its branches as soon as possible.
The company said it will appeal the rulings and is examining the judgements given by the court.
“We do not agree with the court’s resolution and will appeal against this resolution in accordance with the procedure established by law,” McDonalds said in a statement.
The company said it would do its best to continue its operations in Russia.
The Moscow restaurants affected are on Pushkin Square, Manezh Square, Prospect Mira and Varshavskoye Shosse.
Two regional McDonald’s outlets in Stavropol and Ekaterinburg also remain closed, following the allegations last week that the company had breached “numerous” sanitary laws.
“We will continue taking care of our employees and will do our best to continue the success of McDonald’s business in Russia,” McDonald’s said.
The court ruling comes amid a tense stand-off between Russia and the West over the situation in Ukraine.
The EU and US have imposed sanctions against Russia over its role in the conflict. Moscow has responded with a trade embargo against food imports from the West.
The safety watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, has so far ordered the temporary closure of a total of six McDonald’s restaurants in Russia and has introduced unscheduled spot checks in the fast food company’s outlets across the country.
Rospotrebnadzor has denied that its actions are politically motivated.
More unscheduled checks on McDonald’s restaurants across Russia have been announced by the country’s consumer watchdog as part of a probe into food standards.
The move comes after watchdog Rospotrebnadzor temporarily shut four McDonald’s restaurants in Moscow.
The actions come amid rising tensions and sanctions between Russia and the West over the crisis in the Ukraine.
The regulator denied the checks were politically motivated. McDonald’s said “top quality” food was its priority.
The regulatory agency said: “There are complaints about the quality and safety of the products in fast food restaurant chain McDonald’s.”
McDonald’s is one of the symbols of America.
Russian parliament has also called for checks on other US fast-food brands, including Burger King and KFC.
McDonald’s said its main priority was to serve customers “top quality menu items”, and that it was studying a claim by the food standards watchdog “to define what should be done to re-open the [Moscow] restaurants as soon as possible”.
Russian state news agency Ria Novosti reported that the regulator was preparing to take McDonald’s to court over alleged breaches of health and safety regulations.
Russia’s first ever McDonald’s opened in 1990 in Moscow’s Pushkin Square (photo McDonald’s)
McDonalds decline to comment on that report.
Unscheduled checks will be made in McDonald’s restaurants in the region of Sverdlovsk in west-central Russia, the Volga region of Tatarstan, the central Voronezh region, and the Moscow region.
“There has been a selection of microbiology tests, sanitary and chemical tests, and identification indicators,” the watchdog said.
McDonald’s said it was “open to any checks”.
A company spokeswoman for European operations said it was aware that the regulator was carrying out the checks, which would be likely to continue for a couple of months.
The spokeswoman added that McDonald’s serves millions of customers a day in Russia, and wanted minimal disruption for them.
According to Ria Novosti, checks have been ordered across Russia’s Central Federal District, and that inspections of McDonald’s in all of the country’s regions will take place.
The checks and restaurant closures come amid a background of diplomatic tensions and tit-for-tat sanctions between Russia and the West over the crisis in the Ukraine. The West has accused Russia of supporting pro-Russian militants.
Earlier this month, Russia imposed an embargo on food imports from the EU, US and some other Western countries, in response to sanctions over Ukraine.
On August 20, the regulator temporarily closed four Moscow restaurants as part of an ongoing investigation of McDonald’s.
The first ever McDonald’s in Pushkin Square, which opened in 1990, was one of the outlets that was shut. Restaurants on Manezh Square, Svobodny prospect 35b and Prospect Mira were also closed.
Four McDonald’s outlets in Moscow have been temporarily closed by Russia’s main consumer watchdog as part of an investigation into food standards.
Watchdog Rospotrebnadzor claimed the restaurants had breached “numerous” sanitary laws.
McDonald’s said it was looking at the complaints, adding its “top priority is to provide safe and quality products”.
The closures come amid rising tensions between Russia and the West over the crisis in the Ukraine.
Previously when diplomatic tensions are high, the regulator has controversially banned products including wine from Georgia, cheese from Ukraine and apples from Poland.
Earlier this month, Russia imposed a “full embargo” on food imports from the EU, US and some other Western countries, in response to sanctions over Ukraine.
Wednesday’s action by the regulator is part of an ongoing investigation into McDonald’s food standards in Russia.
In July the watchdog filed a lawsuit in Moscow urging the restaurant chain to withdraw certain products.
McDonald’s said that restaurants on Pushkin Square, Manezh Square and Prospect Mira in Moscow had been temporarily closed, and said it wanted to “re-open the restaurants as soon as possible”.
“We will continue taking care of our employees and will do our best to continue the success of McDonald’s business in Russia,” the company added.
McDonald’s has been sued by Russia’s main consumer watchdog, urging the restaurant chain to withdraw certain products.
Rospotrebnadzor said its inspectors in the city of Novgorod, western Russia, had found violations of food standards by McDonald’s.
Cheeseburgers and Filet-o-Fish are among the foods named in the complaint.
Russia is a major market for McDonald’s.
In early April, McDonald’s suspended work at its three Crimean restaurants, following Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula.
McDonald’s operates about 400 restaurants in Russia. The first one opened in Moscow in 1990, and the burgers quickly became very popular among Russians.
The court case comes at a low point in Russian-US relations, after Washington imposed sanctions on some top Russian officials and firms allegedly linked to the pro-Russian uprising in eastern Ukraine.
Rospotrebnadzor’s complaint alleges contamination of a McDonald’s product tested in Novgorod and misleading nutritional information, Russian media report.
Separately, Russia’s food hygiene authorities have announced a ban on dairy imports from Ukraine.
Russian officials spoke of sub-standard quality controls. Dairy produce accounts for only a small fraction of Ukraine’s exports to Russia, Reuters news agency reports.
The ban follows similar moves against Ukrainian food and drink exports in recent months, amid a crisis in relations between Kiev and Moscow. The Ukrainian authorities say Russia is using trade to exert political pressure.
Previously Russia has also imposed such boycotts on Georgia and Moldova – former Soviet republics, like Ukraine, whose pro-Western policies have angered the Kremlin.
McDonald’s has decided to suspend operations at its three Crimean restaurants following ongoing diplomatic tensions in the region.
The company said that it would try to support staff, and hopes to re-open its restaurants in Simferopol, Sevastopol and Yalta as soon as possible.
McDonald’s is the second in the Crimea to alter its operations after heightened tensions between Russia and the west.
Deutsche Post said on Thursday that it was no longer accepting letters for Crimea.
“Due to operational reasons beyond our control, McDonald’s has taken the decision to temporarily close our three restaurants in Simferopol, Sevastopol and Yalta,” McDonald’s said.
A Reuters report said that the company had offered to relocate staff who wished to move to Ukraine.
According to a Kiev-based restaurant consulting group, losing the three restaurants would only result in a 5 percent loss for McDonald’s Ukraine Ltd, where the average daily revenue for each restaurant is about $8,800 (100,000 UAH).
“Calculating net income at about 30 percent of revenue, with the Crimean restaurants remaining closed the American corporation will lose $240,000 [UAH 2.7 million] in profits each month,” Olga Nasonova, director of Restaurant Consulting, told Russia Forbes.
According to Olga Nasonova, McDonald’s has invested about $10 million in the three sites.
A McDonald’s restaurant was first opened on May 24, 1997 in Kiev, and the company now has 79 restaurants in 23 cities across Ukraine.
McDonald’s is the fifth most popular restaurant for Ukrainians, according to Olga Nasonova. There are more than 300 restaurant locations in Russia.
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