Fast food chicken arrives frozen on the slow boat

By Robert Mendick and Ben Leach Published: 9:00PM GMT 06 March 2010

Subway has certified sourcing the duck from five opposite countries: Thailand, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile Photo: DAVID ROSE

The Sundayhas determined that duck sole in bondage together with McDonald"s, Subway and Kentucky Fried Chicken is mostly reared and slaughtered thousands of miles afar and afterwards shipped solidified to the UK in enclosure ships.

There is no requisite on the fast food bondage to confess to the nation of start on menus and boards, notwithstanding flourishing vigour to come clean.

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Subway, that has 1,300 outlets in the UK 100 some-more than McDonald"s - has certified sourcing the duck from five opposite countries: Thailand, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile.

Its turkey is paid for usually from Brazilian suppliers, whilst a little of the ham comes from Chile. Its bacon comes from Germany, Holland, Denmark or the UK.

It equates to that business shopping Subway"s renouned "Chicken & Bacon Ranch" underling one of the world"s best-selling sandwiches are eating beef that could from any dual of 9 opposite countries.

Despite the actuality that the alien beef is solidified and can take at slightest a month to reach the UK, the sequence displays the copyright aphorism "Eat Fresh" in the stores and on the website.

The association pronounced the have use of of the word "fresh" referred to the sandwich being creatively done in front of customers.

When a Sundayreporter walked in to one Subway opening in executive London and asked where the duck came from, he was told: "It"s English chicken." Another workman in the emporium afterwards interjected: "No, no it"s EU chicken. It"s all EU."

At an additional store, a part of of staff pronounced after a little discussion: "It"s not from the UK. It"s from all over ... I think it"s from Thailand."

McDonald"s states on the website that all the beef in the burgers is sourced from the UK or Ireland, but neglects to discuss that the duck in Chicken McNuggets and alternative dishes comes from not usually the UK and Europe but additionally Brazil and Thailand. In all, McDonald"s uses fourteen million chickens a year in the UK outlets.

Asked at a McDonald"s bend in executive London where the duck was sourced, a manger replied: "It"s from the UK."

KFC pronounced only over half the 60,000 metric tons of duck it uses each year in the UK stores is sourced in the UK and delivered uninformed to the restaurants.

The rest 41 per cent is alien from Europe, Brazil and Thailand.

At a executive London outlet, a KFC physical education instructor asked the start of the duck replied: "We don"t know since we get it from a retailer so you would have to hit them."

The outrageous volume of duck alien by the vital fast food bondage will supplement to flourishing vigour for restaurants to be honest about where beef is sourced. Subway pronounced it would acquire legislation that forced all retailers to be some-more "transparent".

The Sunday Telegraph"s Honest Food debate is perfectionist that food be scrupulously marked down to concede consumers to have an sensitive preference about what they eat.

Nick Herbert, the shade sourroundings cabinet member who is additionally campaigning for honest labelling, pronounced it was right away time for restaurants and cafs to follow the lead of supermarkets and fairly brand the start of their food.

Most of the vital supermarkets tag uninformed beef and most of their processed food with where it comes from.

Mr Herbert said: "Thousands of labels are being altered [by the vital supermarkets] to give clearer information.

"We right away need all retailers and food manufacturers to follow fit and we"ll be dire them to do so.

"But we additionally need to go further, fluctuating the element of honest labelling to food that is served in restaurants and pubs.

"It"s no great meaningful that your beef from the supermarket is British if you haven"t a idea where the pig in your beer hall dish comes from."

Friends of the Earth pronounced it was time fast food bondage cut down on the volume of beef alien from abroad.

The charity"s food campaigner, Kirtana Chandrasekaran, said: "Our direct for beef and dairy is destroying the world"s forests.

"The Government contingency step in and await planet-friendly British tillage by assisting farmers to furnish animal feed locally, but trashing the sourroundings and people"s livelihoods."

McDonald"s pronounced there were simply not sufficient chickens in the UK to encounter direct nonetheless it attempted to source from the UK wherever possible.

A orator said: "Availability, coherence of supply and a range of alternative factors together with cost do shift the purchasing quantities from particular markets and these shift via the year."

The orator added: "Strict animal gratification standards are in place via the supply sequence that has been grown with suppliers and tellurian animal gratification experts to safeguard that the really top standards are maintained."

A Subway orator said: "When determining on where to source tender materials a range of economic, environmental, reserve and accessibility considerations are taken in to account.

"Unfortunately the selection and volume of beef that is compulsory by the Subway Chain is not right away accessible to be sourced usually from inside of the UK. We hold this is a identical issue faced by most of the alternative vital retailers in the UK.

"The Subway Chain is open and pure about where products are sourced from and we would acquire any legislation that improves the clarity of labelling for all retailers in the UK."

The mouthpiece added: "The Eat Fresh tender is all about business carrying their food done creatively in front of them, the approach they wish it utilizing bread oven baked creatively via the day.

"Customers can select what they wish in their subs from a far-reaching range of salads and vegetables. All salad and vegetables are delivered uninformed to each store."

Last month, following an review by this newspaper, the sandwich sequence Pret a Manger was forced to shift the packaging, replacing the word "fresh" on labels with "good" in the outline of ingredients.

Pret has certified that all the duck is sourced from Brazil nonetheless it is right away seeking to switch to a British retailer of free-range chicken.

Nina Arnott, a KFC spokesperson, said: "The infancy (59%) of the chicken, together with all of the signature Original Recipe duck on the bone, comes from vital suppliers in the UK, and all of the Original Recipe duck is delivered fresh, not frozen, to the stores.

"We additionally source a little duck from Europe, Brazil and Thailand, and regularly have certain that the suppliers encounter or surpass UK discipline and EU legislation."