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A regional branch of the consumer protection
agency Rospotrebnadzor asked the court to declare production and
sales of some products illegal due to "inappropriate
physical-chemical parameters," she told Reuters.
The lawsuit's list of contested products named the fast-food
chain's Royal Cheeseburger, Filet-o-Fish, Cheeseburger and
Chicken Burger but not its Big Mac burger.
McDonald's said in a statement it had not received any complaint
from the agency and had no information about the lawsuit. It
said its food was produced according to methods approved by
Russian authorities.
The lawsuit comes three months after the fast-food chain decided
to close its restaurants in Crimea, the Ukraine region whose
annexation by Russia in March triggered U.S. and European
sanctions. At the time, some Russian politicians called for all
McDonald's outlets in Russia to be shut.
The court will hold a preliminary hearing on Aug. 13 with the
key hearing likely to be scheduled for September, she said.
The fast-food company, which first opened in Moscow in 1990,
operates about 400 restaurants in Russia and sees the country as
one of its top seven major markets outside the United States and
Canada, according to its 2013 annual report.
(Reporting by Olga Sichkar and Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Tom
Heneghan)
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