Burger King recently caused a stir with its vegan offensive: the company promised plant-based labels that should taste like the original products. But in light of new revelations, vegans are likely to lose their appetite for hamburgers: As one research team found, meatless products were replaced with meaty products when they were unavailable. You need a good stomach for the hygiene deficiencies that were also discovered…
The reporting team led by the revealer journalist Günter Wallraff recently uncovered major abuses. The employees at the German Burger King locations didn’t take it too seriously when it came to the vegan range. “If you don’t have vegetable nuggets, you regularly hand out nuggets,” a Burger King employee told the alleged new colleague, who was actually an undercover reporter. The broadcast of the report has already had consequences for the fast food chain: it has now been released from the V-Label, a quality mark for vegan and vegetarian products.
High risk of confusion with products
The “Team Wallraff” program also showed that meatless products also regularly came into contact with meat products, for example in warm containers and deep fryers. This creates a high risk of confusion between the optically similar labels. However, the strict requirements of the V-Label prescribe that the vegan dishes never come into contact with animal products.
Old ingredients have been relabelled
The undercover reporters uncovered even more grievances. As was the case with a “Team Wallraff” study eight years ago, the current report also revealed disgusting hygiene deficiencies: For example, bacon exposed to room temperature for hours the day before was washed the next day. used – contrary to the regulations. To do this, ingredients with an expiration date are simply relabeled. Sometimes even several times. “Until they’re empty,” explains an employee who remains anonymous. Not without consequences for the customers: “Many also had stomach complaints at the time”, the employee knows from internet reviews.
Moldy buns were used anyway
It gets even more disgusting when it comes to the sauces: Since the containers weren’t rinsed out, they were just refilled. The old leftovers just stayed in the bottle. Apparently hand hygiene is also systematically neglected. The informant said that hands are not washed after the ashtrays are emptied outside or after using the toilet. Also when it comes to expiration dates, people aren’t that specific: “We had ‘long rolls’ that started to get moldy because they expired three months ago. And they were still being used,” the unnamed source said. In the branch at the Friesenplatz in Cologne, mice are said to be part of the permanent inventory, as other employees reported.
Burger King sets up whistleblower hotline for employees
The company says it is taking the allegations “very seriously”. “Our detailed analysis has shown that our standards are high and the processes are clear, but in individual cases we have not been able to embed them in all employees on site.” the fast food chain promised. In addition, there will be a whistleblower hotline for employees of Burger King Germany. The report is seen as an opportunity “to be able to start even more focused on the intended points”.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
