"Why Famous Hamburgers Are Tough... There Is Greaseproof Paper Inside"

Oil paper used for storing patties in hamburgers revealed
Customer demands McDonald's to 'voluntarily report foreign substances'
Refusal leads to report to MFDS... Investigation to proceed

Controversy has arisen after a large franchise hamburger restaurant cooked patties without removing the greaseproof paper used to store the meat patties. On the 19th, Yonhap News reported the story of office worker A, who lives in Seoul, and recently experienced this issue. On the 15th, during lunchtime, A visited a McDonald's near their company. While eating a set menu, they felt an unusual texture that was hard to chew, which turned out to be the greaseproof paper used to store the patty.

A controversy has arisen over cooking meat patties without removing the oil paper used for storage at a large franchise hamburger store. On the 19th, Yonhap News reported a story experienced recently by office worker A, who lives in Seoul. On the 15th, during lunchtime, A visited a McDonald's near the company.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

A searched for similar past cases and concluded that McDonald's response to foreign substances had not improved. Consequently, A requested a written explanation from McDonald's headquarters regarding the cause and countermeasures for the foreign substance, and voluntarily reported the incident to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, demanding a two-week apology notice at the store and a public apology in the media. However, McDonald's dismissed the greaseproof paper as a foreign substance not subject to voluntary reporting and considered the demands for apology notices and public apologies excessive. They only provided a refund on the spot on the day A discovered the foreign substance.

A told Yonhap News, "When I was eating siraegi (dried radish greens), I felt something that was hard to chew, and when I took it out, it was greaseproof paper. Children might mistake it for tough lettuce and eat it. From a parent's perspective, it is problematic that a foreign substance that should not be in hamburgers frequently eaten by children appears." He added, "McDonald's foreign substance cases are so severe that they can be easily found on the internet, so improvement is necessary."

A has reported the issue to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and an investigation is underway. Korea McDonald's stated, "Based on the photos received from the customer, the foreign substance is judged to be a 'meat liner,' a paper material used when storing patties." They added, "We will inspect internal cooking procedures and strengthen employee training at the store to prevent foreign substance contamination."