Tuesday 14th May, 2013

In response to public concern over supply chain safety and visibility, McDonald’s has launched its search for ‘Quality Scouts’, members of the public who will go behind the scenes and report back on how some of its most famous products are made – including the Big Mac and Fries and the Sausage and Egg McMuffin.

The Quality Scouts will investigate and chronicle the supply chain journey from some of the 17,500 British and Irish farms that supply McDonald’s through to food production and restaurants. They will meet and interview farmers, food suppliers and McDonald’s employees to find out the facts about what’s in their chosen product and how it is made. McDonald’s will then publish the Quality Scouts’ reports on its interactive website whatmakesmcdonalds.co.uk later this year.

McDonald’s is opening up its supply chain in response to the high amount of interest and curiosity in its food and products, building on the success of previous behind-the-scenes visits and being more transparent than ever before. According to a recent Populus poll of 2,000 consumers, knowing more about where food comes from is now an important issue for most UK adults. Four out of five people (81 per cent) said it is important that ingredients are traceable to the farm they came from, and over half of adults (53 per cent) consider how food is produced when deciding which products to buy.[1]

McDonald’s has invited farmer, England rugby legend and 2011 Celebrity MasterChef winner, Phil Vickery, to help select the Quality Scouts and take part in behind-the-scenes supply chain visits this summer.