TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A McDonald’s Taiwan advertisement touting the quality of chicken used by the fast-food chain has sparked an outcry from poultry farmers across the country.
The Poultry Association of the Republic of China flagged an ad from McDonald's which emphasizes that the chicken it uses is completely free of growth hormone. Local farmers oppose the ad’s highlighting the issue, saying the practice has never been used in local poultry farming and the information could be misleading, wrote UDN.
According to Chiu Shi-en (邱時恩) from the association, it takes only 35 days for chicken bred in Taiwan to grow to full size and become ready for slaughter thanks to breeding improvements over the years. There is no need to apply growth stimulation methods, which are both costly and impractical, he stressed.
The association has also urged McDonald’s to clarify in the ad the source of their poultry, as the ad seems to imply that all the chicken they use are from Taiwan. The company discloses on its official website that it uses poultry both from Taiwan and the U.S., a fact that is not reflected in the ad, the association complained.
Similar complaints have been filed against an ad from a chicken extract company, which is marketed as growth hormone free. The company responded quickly to remove the ad at the request of local poultry farmers, the report said.
