McDonald's Japan Halt Chicken Nugget Sales After Vinyl Scare

(RTTNews) - McDonald's Japan has discontinued the sales of chicken nuggets across the country after a customer found a piece of vinyl in one nugget at an outlet in Misawa, northern Japan.

The extra ingredient was found in nuggets made by McDonald's new supplier in Thailand. The company has sent the nugget to its headquarters in Tokyo for further examination. "We are starting to investigate how this could have happened," a McDonald's spokeswoman said.

McDonald's had earlier switched its poultry supplier after Chinese officials shut down its supplier Shanghai Husi Food Co. last summer following allegations of stale meat mixed with fresh chicken. The meat was reportedly supplied to McDonald's Japan and other major food retailers in China.

Last month, McDonald's had temporarily stopped sales of large French fries in Japan due to labor problems at the U.S. West Coast ports that limited potato exports. The fast food giant was forced to ration its iconic french fries earlier this month due to a severe shortage of potatoes. However, the latest trouble comes on the day when the fast food giant resumed sales of French fries in Japan.

All this negative issues have come at a time when the company is struggling to up its sales in Asia. McDonald's Japan is expected to report its first loss in 11 years this fiscal year.

MCD is currently trading at $93.49, up $1.26 or 1.37%, on the NYSE.