McDonald's sued for food package
(Shenzhen Daily)
Updated: 2004-03-23 09:02

A Chinese man has sued the Zhejiang branch of McDonald claiming its French fry packages are "unsafe."

He is demanding the company to stop using the packages and apologize.

Qian Yuming, a resident of Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, said the medium and large French fry packages had yellow bars printed on their inner sides and that ink came off if rubbed with white paper or edible oil.

The ink was likely to taint the French fries when they were served hot, he claimed.

He further claimed the packages infringed consumers’ health rights, citing a 1990 law which stipulates that paint or ink should not be used on the inner side of food packages.

Qian also complained about the paper mats on McDonald’s trays. Because the French fry packages had an arc shape, French fries often fall onto the mats and became contaminated by the ink on them, he claimed.

“McDonald’s should have asked the customers to avoid dropping French fries on the mats,” said Qian.

Although it was not clear whether ink on McDonald’s packages or mats was harmful to humans, McDonald's "obviously infringed consumers" rights," Qian claimed.

Qian has brought the case before Xiacheng District People’s Court in Hangzhou, demanding McDonald’s stop using the French fry packages, apologize for having used them, and pay him a symbolic compensation of one yuan (US$0.12).

Zhao Cuihua, a McDonald’s executive responsible for the company’s Zhejiang market, declined to comment.

However, she stressed that McDonald’s had always complied with Chinese law since it entered the Chinese mainland more than 10 years ago.