Four McDonald's restaurant, including the flagship Moscow branch, were temporarily closed by Russia's consumer protection agency for violation of sanitary laws, the Financial Times reported.

Russian consumer protection agency Rospotrebnadzor said it found "numerous violations against  sanitary legislation" during its food and site inspections of the four stores. The regulator added that a case has been filed against McDonald's in a Moscow court.  

Like Us on Facebook

The fast food chain operator said it is working on getting the restaurants reopened as soon as possible and promised to do everything to continue its operations in Russia.

The Financial Times said that with the rising tensions between Russia and the U.S.,  McDonald's has been targeted by Moscow officials, which see the golden arches as a proxy for the White House.

It noted that a regional branch of Rospotrebnadzor filed a lawsuit against McDonald's in Moscow for alleged non-compliance with food quality and safety regulations of the country. Among the allegations were that E.Coli was found in McDonald's wraps and salads and several dishes had wrong calorie counts.

Far right parties have also sought to lessen support for McDonald's, with the protests organized outside stores and "eat Russian" campaigns, the paper said.

The Financial Times said that Russia has responded to the combined US and EU sanctions against high-profile targets in Russian business and political sectors with its own that are mostly food-related.

Rospotrebnadzor has banned imports of EU and US meats, dairy products, fruits and vegetables as well as a range of  western food and drink products, it added.

The paper said the opening of McDonald's in Russia signaled the thawing of the Washington-Moscow relations.  The opening of the branch in the Pushkinskaya Square branch in 1990, which came after 14 years of negotiations between Soviet officials and McDonald, was welcomed by  a crowd of 30,000 despite the freezing winter.

McDonald's now has 435 outlets in Russia, from Novosibirsk in Siberia to Petrozavodsk in western Karelia.

TagsMcdonalds, Ukraine crisis