After Starbucks, McDonald's India takes airtight methods to ensure a hygienic customer experience

Westlife Development, the company that owns and operates McDonald’s restaurants in West and South India is leading the way for the eating out industry by walking the talk as to serving safe and hygienic food. The restaurant chain that has always ensured world-class health and hygiene practices is doubling down on its safety processes. Due to Coronavirus outbreak, it has gone an extra mile in leaving no stone unturned to give the customers a safe and hygienic food experience. McDonald’s India - one of the few QSRs to have a closed loop supply chain – is reinforcing its safety processes right from the suppliers’ end to its restaurants.

Speaking on the action taken by McDonald’s, Smita Jatia, Managing Director, Hardcastle Restaurants says ,“Our customers are at the heart of all our efforts. QSCV – Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value have been the cornerstone of our business since inception. Our food is 100% traceable to the farms that use world-class farming technologies to create best-in-class produce, it is transported using cold chain, and at the restaurants, it is handled and served with unparalleled hygiene. In the view of the current health crisis, we are proactively heightening these efforts to create an even more safe and hygienic environment for our customers.”

Hygiene practices followed by McDonald’s India in West and South

• All kitchen staff handle food with gloves, that are changed every few hours
• All food trays and tray mats are sanitized after every use
• The crew  to wash  their hands every hour for 20 seconds with antimicrobial handwash
• The tables to be sanitized after every use
• Separate colour- coded cleaning cloths are to be used to handle veg and non-veg food
• Separate mops are to be used for the restaurant lobby and the kitchen
• The washroom to be regularly sanitized
• 3- sink sanitization process – wash, clean and sanitize
• The cleaning mops are washed in running hot water to ensure complete sanitization
• A regular ‘PH’ test is done to ensure strength of the sanitizer
•  A ‘Clean as you go ‘process is followed to ensure cleanliness across all touchpoints

Heightened sanitation processes being deployed to ensure safety

• Regular monitoring of key health parameters for all crew members
• Monitoring of travel history and family health of our crew
• Credit card machines are getting sanitized regularly
• Self-dispensing coke machine panel is being sanitized regularly
• The table trackers are being sanitized regularly
• All other customers touch points like Self-Ordering Kiosk or SOK screen, door handles, handrails are also being sanitized regularly

Additionally, the company is keeping a close track on its supply chain for its consumers. Not just this,  from the stringent scanning methods for all suppliers to ensuring that all suppliers have food safety management systems at their plants, they are ensuring that employees at their suppliers’ end also goes through stringent hygiene checks before entering the plant or going for their shifts. It is indeed an applaudable step taken by the company to keep in check each minute detail in the food safety process.