What's in a burger?

After the US fast-food giant McDonald's said it was discontinuing the use of the "pink slime", made from beef trimmings treated with ammonium hydroxide, used in its burgers, its China division said the ingredients used for its burgers in China are different from those in the United States. It said its burgers here are made of 100 percent beef and its production process meets China's national standards.

But this has failed to convince many Chinese consumers, who say that since food safety standards and regulations in the US are generally higher and more developed than those in China, how can McDonald's use higher standard ingredients in China than it does in the US.

If McDonald's really wants to reassure Chinese consumers, it should provide evidence that the burgers here are not made from pink slime and have the magnanimity to teach consumers how to identify burgers made with such gunk. And the company's whole production chain should be open to inspection by officials, the public and media.