Russians Served Moldy Burgers In McDonald’s Replacement Restaurants

Customers are being given rotten hamburgers by the fast-food chains that took over from McDonald's after the American company departed Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Vkusno & Tochka, which translates from Russian as "tasty and that's it," was frequented by diners who shared images of the rotten food on social media.

In the unsettling photos, hamburger buns are covered in mold. The Daily Mail reports that other customers have seen insect legs in the meat patties.

The photos were uploaded to her Telegram chat channel by Ksenia Sobchak, a prominent member of the political opposition to the Putin regime and a Russian television personality.

“Vkusno & Tochka sells moldy burgers,” Sobchak wrote.

“It looks like they don’t quite honor the standards of McDonald’s, at least in terms of product quality control. Today at least three cases were recorded of burgers with moldy buns sold to customers.”

The operators of "Vkusno & Tochka" promised to improve the eating experience for consumers when McDonald's sold their 700 restaurants to them.

Oleg Paroev, who was previously the CEO of McDonald's Russia before being named the new head of the rebranded company, asserted that on June 12, the chain's launch day, it sold a record 120,000 hamburgers.

Russian consumers, however, are chafing at the sight of these dissatisfactory meals, based on their response on social media. Even some people have criticized the served cheeseburgers for lacking cheese.

Others also complained that the cheese sauce they received had expired.

“I don’t think it’s OK when you find mold,” one customer wrote on Telegram.

Another patron responded: “Figure it out, guys, you don’t need to poison people.”

McDonald's left Russia earlier this year due to the nation's invasion of Ukraine, but it still has the buyback option the company after 15 years.

A little more than 30 years ago, soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Golden Arches made their premiere in Moscow.

Although trademark rules prevent the new company from offering Big Macs or McFlurrys, it still has access to many of the same ingredients used to create the menu items.

“The fact [the Big Mac] has now gone from the menu does not help us,” Paroev told Reuters.

“Our guests will get used to the new name and understand that they are no longer at a ‘Mac’ but a ‘tochka’.”