Burger King ME talk about Horsemeat scandal

Burger King ME talk about Horsemeat scandal

Burger King Middle East disconnects itself from Horse Scandal

Burger King ME assures Kipp that the horse burger scandal could never happen here.

February 6, 2013 11:29 by Muhammad Aldalou

A recently published article discussing the Horse Burger scandal in the UK caught my attention. Entitled ‘Five reasons why Burger King’s Horse Meat Scandal Could Happen Here’, it delved into the possibility of the sham repeating itself with the Burger chain in the United States. As the headline suggests, the writer listed five reasons to back up her hypothesis but only one of them really worried Kipp precisely because it could be both relevant and possible in our part of the world. ‘Poor labeling prevents consumers from knowing what’s in their food and the industry works to keep it that way’.

Now, on both conscious and subconscious levels, we’re all aware of the price we pay when we invite Fast Food into our diets. And I’m not talking about the price plastered on display menus. Much like smoking or drinking, some of us are more knowledgeable than others but you’re unlikely to ever meet someone who actually believes either of them to be healthy or beneficial. Similarly, those of us who consume fast food regularly are well aware that the ‘what you see is what you get’ rule doesn’t apply there; yet for some reason we choose to ignore it.

Whether we prefer to dedicate our time to our ‘top priorities’ or whether the food industry is indeed working hard to – not only make sure we’re ignorant – but robbing us of any desire to be otherwise, I do not know. What I do consider though are the possibilities. Many readers in the Middle East, particularly ones with no family or friends in the UK may have dismissed this news as irrelevant to them but ask yourself this: If it were possible in the UK, how much more likely is it to happen elsewhere as well?

Out of pure interest, Kipp launched an internal poll to find out whether our readers had found this news to be unsettling and whether they thought it was a possibility in the Middle East. The Poll is ongoing but so far, we see a fair bit of trust in Middle Eastern Beef as well as general disgust at the incident. Disgust that’s likely to deter them from craving fast food for a while. Either way, we were concerned and Burger King in the Middle East were kind enough to provide a relatively comforting statement on it. Judge for yourself.

Concerning the recent developments that took place in UK and Ireland regarding one of Burger King’s former beef supplier, BURGER KING in the Middle East would like to assure its customers that: The situation that has occurred in UK and Ireland is in no way or form connected to us in any of the Middle Eastern countries. Our meat utilised in BURGER KING in the Middle East is 100% Halal Beef and is imported from the top factories in Australia.

We would also like to confirm that BURGER KING in the Middle East has never utilised any suppliers from Europe for the purpose of beef patties. Moreover, the facilities in Australia comply with strict Halal requirements and are accredited for Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. Furthermore, they are accredited with the internationally recognized Islamic authorities whose staff monitor all stages of production and issue appropriate certification. The customer is always the top concern of BURGER KING. There are no compromises in terms quality and safety.

So there you have it, Kippers. Nevertheless, the vibe we’ve sensed from both readers and public forums is that upon hearing this news, fast food understandably began to sound much less appealing. Empathising with how that feels, Kipp knows no mere statement is likely to reverse that, at least not for the time being.