State Media Exposes Health Concerns at Burger King
While Burger King Holdings is busy in the U.S. tackling a lawsuit which alleges health and safety violations after a Santa Monica employee's death on July 6 while exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, Burger King China faces its own health and safety concerns.
Several Nanchang city Burger Kings were found to have relabelled expired bread and chicken and continued serving the products, CCTV reported.
The "CCTV 315 Gala," an annual event that investigates bad corporate behavior to protect consumer rights, exposed Burger King in a broadcast on Thursday. The show was originally scheduled for March 15 but was delayed due to COVID-19 prevention.
The investigative report showcased video shot at the end of 2019, across three Burger King locations in Nanchang, the capital city of the eastern landlocked province Jiangxi.
The video showed Burger King staff in Nanchang's Tianhong restaurant replace a label that read "thaw and throw-away date" on a stack of expired bread, apparently following the manager's order to "extend them for one more day."
Another Burger King restaurant in Nanchang's Wangfujin mall was found selling expired bread and "South American flavor" chicken as well. The staff claimed they were accustomed to replacing expiration labels and said Burger King headquarters was informed of it, according to the CCTV investigation.
Shortly after the gala, the three exposed Burger King Nanchang restaurants disappeared from dianping.com, the largest review and group buying website in China, and remains unlisted in searches.
Burger King followed with a Weibo social media post to apologize and claimed it had suspended the business of the restaurants in question and will investigate the matter internally.
The Market Supervision Bureau of Shanghai, where Burger King China is headquartered, said it had conducted spot checks in Burger King restaurants across the city and found no violations related to food hygiene and safety.
The supervision bureau said it expects to meet Burger King China representative on Friday to urge it to take greater corporate responsibility for public health.
Danone To Expand Milk Formula Business in China
The Paris-based European multinational food-products conglomerate Danone, after acquiring Qingdao-based Murray Goulburn Dairy, an infant milk formula maker, announced that it plans to invest a total of 100 million Euros to strengthen its Specialized Nutrition infant formula business in China.
Besides funding the acquisition, the investments include the opening of a Shanghai-based open-science research center, notably focusing on breast milk and intestinal health by bringing together the public sector, medical and academic institutions, business partners and consumers.
The factory in Qingdao is currently under technical reconstruction and will supplement its production function for the Shanghai research center, China Business Network reported.
Additionally, some of the investments will go to Danone's advanced medical nutrition facility in Wuxi, Jiangsu province for further expanding its Food for Special Medical Purpose offerings, according to Danone's announcement.
Danone revenue in 2019 topped 25.3 billion Euros, and China is Danone's second-largest market.
According to Euromonitor Consulting, foreign-brand infant milk powder enterprises have been facing market challenges from the domestic brands, during the period of from 2016 to 2019, as the market share of domestic infant milk-power enterprises rose 9.4% in 2019, while the market share of foreign brand dropped 4.6%.
China's milk power market has left behind past concerns of ample quantity but enters an era of pursuit for quality, said Bruno Chevot, the senior vice president of Danone Early Life Nutrition Greater China.
When tighter import restrictions on infant formula were enacted in March 2013, concerns about domestic product quality led to smuggling of milk powder. By the end of April 2013, there were more than 800 arrests of smugglers and the confiscation of 10,000 kilograms of baby milk, state media reported.
In 2016, Chinese authorities enforced the Administrative Measures for Registration of Infant and Young Children Milk Powder Formula Recipes, requiring both domestic and foreign infant formula manufactures to be registered with the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). Producers can only market in China with the CFDA's approval.
Central Committee Plans SOE Reforms
China's Central Committee has approved a three-year action plan for state-owned enterprise (SOE) reform (2020-2022), with the aim of deepening overall reform. China has been rolling out the restructuring of SOEs, and for the rest of the year will focus on the sectors of grain reserves, oil processing and marine engineering.
The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) said on Thursday that SOEs' performance in the first half of 2020 was beyond expectations and had set a solid foundation for the reform and restructuring for the remainder of the year.
Chinese SOE's accumulative revenue reached RMB13.4 trillion (US$1.91 trillion dollars) in the first two quarters, a decline of 7.8% year-on-year. June's net profits topped RMB166.48 billion, the first monthly net profit increase this year, according to SASAC.
Restructuring may be carried out between central and local SOEs as well as between Chinese SOEs and foreign corporations, with key sectors to include equipment manufacturing, chemical industries, marine engineering equipment and overseas oil and gas resources, according to the committee.
Shenzhen, Zhuhai Customs Respond to Hong Kong COVID Increase
People traveling from Hong Kong to Shenzhen or Zhuhai in Guangdong province are now required to show negative test results for COVID-19, approved by a Hong Kong authorized testing institution within 72 hours, and will also undergo a 14-day medical quarantine, state sources revealed.
Hong Kong reported 63 new locally transmitted cases on Thursday, as the third wave of the novel coronavirus this month set a single-day record. The governments of Shenzhen and Zhuhai, which border Hong Kong, issued statements on Thursday evening to take more precise measures toward COVID-19 prevention and control.
The measures request every inbound passenger to show coronavirus nucleic acid test results at critical transportation hubs including the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong port.
All inbound passengers are bound to 14-day isolations, except for travelers who meet certain conditions; such as students, officials and truck drivers who hold certificates to prove they tested negative for the virus within the past week, China Daily reported.
FDI Declines in First Half of 2020
China saw a total of RMB472.18 billion (US$67.48 billion dollars) foreign direct investment (FDI) during the first two quarters of 2020, a decline of 1.3% year-on-year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Commerce.
Meanwhile, the high-tech service industry saw foreign investment increase 19.2% year-on-year; the information service industry hiked its intake by 20.9%; and R&D and design service industries rose 35.7%.
Hong Kong, Singapore and U.S were the major FDI sources, with a rise of 4.2%, 7.8% and 6% respectively, year-on-year. FDI from countries along the Belt and Road rose 2.9%; FDI from countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations rose 5.9%.
In the first half of 2020, China's direct overseas investment to various sectors including mining, manufacturing, renting, service, wholesale and retail across 159 countries and regions totaled RMB362.14 billion (US$51.5 billion), a decline of 0.7% year-on-year.
