Woman finds ‘dental material’ in Japan McDonald’s burger
Tokyo: A Japanese woman got more than a mouthful when she discovered fragments later identified as “dental material” in a McDonald’s hamburger, marking the fast-food chain’s latest food quality embarrassment. The news, confirmed by McDonald’s today, comes two days after the company admitted several foreign objects had been found in food at Japanese outlets, including a human tooth in a container of french fries at an outlet in Osaka. An unidentified woman told the Asahi television network she had found three tiny fragments of what looked like teeth in a burger she bought at a McDonald’s in northern Kushiro city in September. “I took a bite and there was a crunch,” the woman said in footage aired Friday, adding that she initially thought it was a piece of sand or stone. “I can’t help thinking that it was (already) in the meat.” A third-party examination determined the opaque white fragments were “dental material”, according to company spokeswoman Miwa Yamamoto, saying the substance is commonly used to fill cavities or in other dental work. McDonald’s, however, would not confirm the woman’s claim that the fragments were inside her burger. Yamamoto said the customer was told that there was an “extremely low chance” it could have fallen into raw material, given the highly-mechanised process. (AFP)
Italy police seize 50 mn euros in fake banknotes
Rome: Italy’s financial police said on Friday they had seized over one million fake 50 euro banknotes which were almost ready to be put into circulation, and arrested five people. A raid on a printing works south of Naples “uncovered 1,012,800 bills still in production but already sporting the watermark found on 50 euro notes,” the police said in a statement. Some of the notes were found in a hidden compartment dug into the floor and opened by remote control, it said. Three people accused of manning the machines were arrested, along with two brothers believed to be the masterminds behind the operation run in an industrial area between Castellammare di Stabia and Torre Annunziata, south of Naples. The southern Italian city is a hotbed for counterfeiters, with one of Italy’s top investigators, Gerardo Marinelli, saying in September that “over 50 percent of all fake notes in the eurozone come from the Naples hinterland.” The most renowned counterfeit organisation is the so-called “Napoli Group”, which runs a “school” for foreigners in how to make false euro banknotes, he said. According to Naples prosecutors, despite suspicions of links between the group and the notorious Camorra mafia syndicate, they have yet to uncover any proof. (AFP)
Shop in Malaysia sells IS merchandise
Kuala Lumpur: A shop in Malaysia’s Bandar Baru Bangi town, near capital Kuala Lumpur, has been found selling militant merchandise, media reported Friday.The shop is filled with militant-themed flags, T-shirts and caps, and also sells clothes bearing the symbols of militant groups, especially the Islamic State (IS) and the Taliban.”I am doing this for Allah and if I am doing it for him, I shouldn’t be afraid,” the Malaysian Star quoted the shopkeeper, who declined to be named, as saying.He appears to be a young Malaysian in his 20s.The shop, which has been operating for three months, seems to be a souvenir hub as militants and their supporters would go there to equip themselves with the latest IS paraphernalia. IS T-shirts, for example, are selling for 59 Malaysian ringgits ($0.28). Some of the T-shirts were emblazoned with phrases such as “Mujahideen cyberspace” and “We declare war against the Zionists”.Stickers with IS and Taliban logos are going for five to 10 Malaysian ringgits each. Explaining the high prices, the storekeeper, who claimed to be from Sabah, said the items were made in and imported from Indonesia.”There is a high demand for the merchandise and business is picking up since the store opened three months ago,” he said. The shopkeeper said that the shop was not funded by any organisation and that it was a family business. An online store, he said, was also available for people who are not able to come to Bangi. He claimed that the store, which also sells other ordinary Muslim apparel, was the first of its kind in Malaysia. (IANS)