A program on the World Consumer Rights Day from China Central Television (CCTV) reported a case of regulatory health violations in a franchisee Burger King store in Nanchang, the capital of East China’s Jiangxi province. The report included managers consciously violating multiple serious health and safety regulations, as well as committing business malpractice.

(Outdated chicken being reused in a Burger King's)

From selling outdated burger buns to putting as little ingredients as they possibly can in a burger, this particular Burger King has done it all. Putting the health of customers on the line might come as a shock for a brand dedicated to prime taste and fresh ingredients, especially in a rainy summer when food is prone to go bad more easily.

But at the end of the day, whose fault is it? The franchisee obviously should not have committed such health violations, while the franchise, Burger King, should have done their best to prevent these types of incidents from happening in the first place.

Reporters from CCTV then investigated multiple other local Burger Kings, hoping to reveal more of the same. As expected, another Burger King in Wangfujing, Nanchang, had the same issues if not worse. Despite also using outdated buns in food preparation, they even changed the shelf-life tags on meats. Multiple customers have complained of stale ingredients and even food poisoning. A staff member there also told the reporter of seeing bread being thrown out only when moldy, putting the health of customers at stake.

Burger King finally openly apologized and explained that both restaurants are owned by the same franchisee, calling the incidents a “systematic fault”and promising to handle them extremely seriously so as to serve as deterrence for future franchisees.The brand has already formed a committee to temporarily close the stores and inspect all issues.