Questions answered
There are 121 questions about “Suppliers” in the “How do you operate?” topic.
Click on a question to read our answer.
- 61. What percentage of Chicken McNuggets are made from Soil Association approved free range organic chicken meat?
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McDonald's do not currently use any chicken meat from Soil Association approved free range organic chickens.
(June 2007)
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 62. I enjoy your chicken products but is it true that most of the supply is from South America? Your beef is supplied reasonably ethically but I am really worried about the chicken in your resturants.
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Yes McDonald's does source some of its chicken meat from farmers in Brazil. Approximately 14.6 million chickens a year are used for McDonald's chicken menu items. Of these, the company buys around 4.7 million from British farmers, also from farmers in mainland Europe and the rest coming from Brazil. All suppliers, whether local or international, must adhere to the extremely stringent guidelines and high standards laid down by local government, the McDonald’s Agriculture Assurance Plans, and the British Poultry Council’s Assured Chicken Production scheme which controls all aspects of chicken farming, including feed and animal welfare. McDonald's continues to collaborate with global animal welfare experts to ensure that it provides the highest levels of farming quality and welfare.
(June 2007)
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 63. Is it true that the cows used in the burgers have been modified to have 8 legs?
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No, this is not true. In the UK, McDonald's cattle are fed a grass-based diet, which is sometimes supplemented with cereals and cereal crops for dietary reasons and they definitely have only four legs. You may be also interested to know that no chemicals, antibiotic growth stimulants or hormones are fed to the animals as they are strictly forbidden by the requirements of McDonald's Agriculture Assurance Programme (MAAP).
(June 2007)
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 64. How much do you pay for british cattle because the burgers are very cheap?
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Unfortunately, this information is confidential. McDonald's aims to buy high quality meat at the right price to ensure that value can be provided to customers and producers alike.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 65. Do you use ingredients from local sources in your resturants?
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McDonald's policy is to source ingredients locally wherever possible. Last year over 17,200 British and Irish farmers supplied ingredients to McDonald’s. In fact, over 70 percent of McDonald's annual food spend is with suppliers from the British Isles.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 66. I have seen the beef farming reports, what about the chicken? does it come from the UK ? is it factory farmed? do you use free range eggs?
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The only chicken meat McDonald’s uses is carefully deboned chicken breast meat, and only from poultry suppliers in the UK, mainland Europe and Brazil, who are accredited by the nationally recognised Farm Assurance Scheme – Assured Chicken Production. Strict animal welfare standards are in place, which have been developed with the suppliers and global animal welfare experts. The feed used for rearing our chickens is not genetically modified and is free from antibiotic growth promoters. Diets for the chickens are carefully formulated by experienced nutritionists, with bird health regularly monitored by veterinary personnel. McDonald’s is also a co-sponsor of The Food Animal Initiative who are running a research project looking into the commercial viability of free range chicken meat production. All of the eggs used in the breakfast menu and sauces are free range. Great care is taken to ensure that all of the free range eggs conform to the Lion Mark code of practice. McDonald’s suppliers are accredited by an independently audited Free Range Farm Assurance scheme.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 67. How can you justify the breeding of cattle and the amout of grain they consume in some of the planets poorest countrys when it could be used to feed people in the same country dying of starvation?
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McDonald's takes the view that meat forms an important and natural part of a balanced diet. the slaughter of animals is an unavoidable part of that process. McDonald’s has standards in place that are continually monitored to ensure that the slaughter of animals is carried out in a humane and compassionate manner by qualified personnel and will not work with any supplier who does not adhere to high standards, and those required by UK and EU legislation.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 68. where do you pick your vegetables?
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McDonald’s sources products from many different places. The company’s policy is to source ingredients locally whenever possible - last year over 17,200 British and Irish farmers supplied ingredients for McDonald’s menu items. In fact, over 70 percent of the annual food spend is with suppliers from the British Isles. The lettuce and salad that McDonald’s uses is supplied by growers in the UK in spring and summer. In winter they come from Spain. The carrots are from UK growers for 11 months of the year, and from France for one month of the year. McDonald's UK uses Russet Burbank, Pentland Dell and Shepody potatoes in the French Fries, with most of them coming from the UK.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 69. Can you outline McDonald's current ethical sourcing initiatives and areas where you are considering for the future?
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One of McDonald’s recent initiatives has been the switch to using Kenco Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee because the Rainforest Alliance programme takes a holistic approach to the supply chain. Because farms are certified based on social and environmental standards that guide farmers towards long-term sustainable farm management, the quality of the coffee produced is generally higher. This means that McDonald’s customers get competitively-priced high quality Arabica coffee that has been produced sustainably according to standards that benefit coffee farmers and the environment.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 70. I have heard that there is a lot of forest destruction in the USA to grow GM crops to feed cattle in the USA. Does any of your beef here, or in the USA, come from cattle which is fed from forest destroying crops or GM feed?
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McDonald’s UK beef cattle are fed on a diet of grass, root crops and cereals. Occasionally young cattle may be fed a feed ration which may have a small amount of soya included to provide protein. This soya may come from GM crops grown in the USA or South America, depending on the harvest and availability. Please bear in mind that because the animals may be fed on GM soya, it doesn't mean that their derived meat and milk are genetically modified. However, as a company, McDonald’s takes steps to make sure that it does not source from recently deforested areas. What’s more, after discussions with McDonald’s, Greenpeace and other NGOs, the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries and the National Association of Grain Exporters and their members have agreed not to trade soya from deforested areas within the Amazon as of October 2006. As this website has been set up by McDonald’s UK, the company can’t really comment on practices in the US. Please go to the ‘Contact Us’ section of the McDonald’s US website – www.mcdonalds.com - for information on how to get in touch with them directly.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 71. What is the name of the coffe you use in the hot drinks, is it kenco and if so what type of kenco?
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McDonald’s has recently changed to Kenco Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee which means that customers can drink high quality, freshly ground Arabica coffee in every McDonald’s restaurant in the UK. The Rainforest Alliance certification means that customers can rest assured that this coffee has been produced in a way that benefits coffee growers, their communities and the environment. To find out more about the Rainforest Alliance, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 72. does any of your food like the meat come form wales?
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Yes, a proportion of McDonald’s food comes from Wales. One of the company’s beef suppliers is located in South Wales drawing from farmers across the region. In fact, you can see one of the Quality Scouts, Jane Eyres’ visit to a Welsh beef farmer that supplies McDonald’s on this website – click on ‘Quality Scouts’ at the top of the homepage. Bakery products are produced in Wales and some of the cheddar cheese that is used to make the company’s cheese slices comes from a creamery in Wales as well as a number of free range egg producers that supply eggs for McDonald’s breakfasts.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 73. where do you make your products?
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McDonald’s sources products from many different places. The company’s policy is to source ingredients locally whenever possible - last year over 17,200 British and Irish farmers supplied ingredients for McDonald’s menu items. In fact, over 70 percent of the annual food spend is with suppliers from the British Isles. All the pork and milk is supplied from British farms. The lettuce and salad that McDonald’s uses is supplied by growers in the UK in spring and summer. In winter they come from Spain. The carrots are from UK growers for 11 months of the year, and from France for one month of the year. The chickens are reared by UK, mainland Europe and Brazilian farmers. All cattle for McDonald’s hamburgers are reared in the UK and Ireland. McDonald’s has a dedicated beef processor in the UK, called Esca. The French Fries are supplied by two suppliers and they use over 165,000 tonnes of potatoes from British growers. All McDonald’s sandwiches and salads are freshly prepared in McDonald’s restaurants with the supplied ingredients.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 74. So did you switch coffee suppliers because of environmental and social problems with the coffee you were sourcing previously?
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No. McDonald’s is continuously looking for ways to improve the quality of the food and beverages it offers its customers, and the sustainability of its supply chain. Switching to Kenco Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee enables the company to do this.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 75. Will customers have to pay more for their coffee as a result of switching to Rainforest Alliance?
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No. Customers will see no difference to the price of their coffee as a result of the switch to Kenco Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee.
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