US fastfood giant McDonald’s is to start using beef imported from Australia and New Zealand.

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A shortage of lean domestic beef has prompted the company to look further afield, and a small test of imported beef will begin in the southeast of the country, a spokesman said. The beef will be 100% USDA-inspected, the company emphasised.


The move comes at a sensitive time as fears about world beef safety have been mounting for months. Concerns about BSE have hit McDonald’s sales figures as consumers grew wary about beef safety in a number of international markets.


It is reported that McDonald’s is contracting the patties for the test from a plant operated by Golden State Foods in Conyers, Georgia, according to Cattle Buyers Weekly.

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