McDonald’s in Moscow shut on health grounds
28 Aug 2014 5:32 AM IST
The three Moscow restaurants include one located in the shadow of the Kremlin and the first McDonald’s restaurant to open its doors in the final years of Communism, becoming a symbol of Russia’s gradual acceptance of the West. But the decision is set against retribution by Russia for sanctions by the West over Russia’s support for separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Last week the consumer safety agency Rospotrebnadzor ordered the Moscow restaurants closed. And reports circulated that the government had ordered inspections of all of the US burger chain’s more than 430 locations across the country.
Restaurants in of Stavropol and Yekaterinburg in the Urals have also been ordered closed following inspections. A McDonald’s lawyer said they would appeal against the rulings. ‘The rulings were unfounded, the court imposed the maximum penalty ... but there was no justification for this,’ Maxim Titarenko was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. ‘The violations which Rospotrebnadzor cited have either already been eliminated or are in the process of being eliminated,’ he added.
Last week the consumer safety agency Rospotrebnadzor ordered the Moscow restaurants closed. And reports circulated that the government had ordered inspections of all of the US burger chain’s more than 430 locations across the country.
Restaurants in of Stavropol and Yekaterinburg in the Urals have also been ordered closed following inspections. A McDonald’s lawyer said they would appeal against the rulings. ‘The rulings were unfounded, the court imposed the maximum penalty ... but there was no justification for this,’ Maxim Titarenko was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. ‘The violations which Rospotrebnadzor cited have either already been eliminated or are in the process of being eliminated,’ he added.
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