Chicken McNuggets, made in France from French chicken, are at the heart of a new three-year agreement between McDonald’s France, Cargill Foods France and the French poultry sector.
The deal, signed in the presence of France’s food and farm minister, Stéphane Le Foll, is also seen as a transparent demonstration of McDonald’s and Cargill’s support for French producers.
“By providing for a fixed purchase price for the chicken each year, the agreement will preserve prices from market fluctuations and provide producers, packers and processors with visibility, allowing them to plan for their production and investments,” said Cargill, in a launch statement which also named Boscher Poultry, LDC Group and Gaévol breeders as agreement partners.
“Over the last four years, McDonald’s France has more than doubled its chicken meat supplies from French farms, and the share of French supplies is expected to reach almost two-thirds of the company’s total needs in 2016.”
Cargill’s senior key account manager for continental Europe, Samia Martel, added: “When we built our factory in Orleans to manufacture McNuggets for McDonald’s restaurants more than 23 years ago, the breeders of Gaévol were already among our very first partners. As such, we are proud to be part of this agreement because it illustrates the importance of the sustainable relationships that have been at the origin of the entire sector dedicated to McDonald’s France.”
Minister Le Foll welcomed the agreement, commenting: “It is a further illustration of the interest of contracting approaches that bring visibility to farmers.”