FOR the first time ever, McDonald's in the GCC invited 6 social media influencers to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to visit their chicken suppliers. McDonald's in the GCC shared Halal and processing practices with an engaged group from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. The objective of the trip was to show the farm to tray journey of chicken used by McDonald's highlighting Halal practices, food procedures and safety and hygiene practices as part of its transparency initiative. Mohammed Alireza, Deputy General Manager of Reza Food Services Co. (McDonald's Western and Southern region), said: "Since the launch of "Your right to know" campaign the primary objective is to generate a transparent link between McDonald's and their customers. We have seen an extremely engaged audience who want to find out more about our brand and food. One of the most frequently asked questions received is around Halal practices. I want to emphasize that the meats delivered in McDonald's are slaughtered and prepared according to principles of Islamic Sharia. They undergo rigorous standards to ensure their high quality and safety. In this regard, we invited Mr. Zied Alswaida, the well-known trusted name in Saudi Arabia, to have him join us in Kuala Lumpur to validate our Halal and food procedures followed in the preparation of chicken meat that we offer in McDonald's and reflects the true image of our products and commitment to provide high quality healthy foods, identical to the principles of Islamic Shariah." The three-day tour included a visit to Huat Lai Primary Processing Plant to learn and see how meat is prepared according to strict Halal procedures, followed by a visit to Keystone Malaysia Processing Plant, to see how Chicken McNuggets are prepared and ending the trip with an Open Door kitchen tour at McDonald's Malaysia and lunch under the world renowned golden arches. Alswaida said: "I frankly have enjoyed this interesting trip which was organized by Saudi McDonald's suppliers' farms and factories in Malaysia, escorted by famous social media influencers from various Arab Gulf countries. I've benefited a lot from the event, considering it as a unique unforgettable experience. The most interesting thing was that I have taken a chance to see the high quality standards and methods applied in preparing the Chicken, which was better than I expected, and this shows the McDonald's keenness in quality, transparency and attention to the smallest details throughout all the food preparation stages. There are things that the normal person is not usually aware of, he only hears about them as just false rumors. This is same what we have been hearing about McDonald's but since we moved closer to it, the whole picture has been changed and we knew that everything has been said is just baseless rumor. I advise everyone to make sure of everything before spreading it to the public". "The most important part of the trip was the tour made to see the process of chicken export from farm to factory and then to the restaurant. We have seen the advanced methods used in slaughtering, according to the Islamic Sharia rules. We have also involved in the slaughtering process and got enlightened about all the details and inquiries regarding food safety and quality standards. I ask Allah to support McDonald's with further success, they really deserve all the best", he added. The visit was captured by the influencers using their social media channels over Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, with followers interacting and following the influencers on their journey through the #Re7latiMa3McDonalds hashtag that was used throughout the visit. A total of 50 posts were captured throughout the three
