Four McDonald’s restaurants in Moscow have been temporarily closed by Russia’s consumer watchdog agency known as Rospotrebnadzor, which claimed that the company had violated several sanitary laws. Rospotrebnadzor also announced that unscheduled visits would be made to McDonald’s outlets in the Urals in central Russia.
McDonald’s officials said they were checking into the complaints and hoped to reopen the Moscow 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 stated. McDonald’s has recently been in a legal dispute with Rospotrebnadzor over claims that the fast-food chain, which operates approximately 400 outlets in Russia, had violated food safety standards with its Cheeseburgers and Filet-o-Fish products sold in Novgorod. McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in Moscow in 1990, and the fast-food chain’s offerings quickly became popular with Russian consumers. The ongoing political situation in Ukraine has impacted food supplies, with Russia recently announcing a full embargo on food imports from the U.S. and the E.U. in response to sanctions. McDonald’s also recently closed three outlets in Crimea after Russia annexed that area.