McDonald's Japan Consults Moms For New Food Safety Project

While U.S. locations of McDonald's are busy dealing with the new Hamburglar and a newfound appreciation for kale, for McDonald's Japan, turnaround plans include a mother's touch.

On Monday, McDonald's Japan announced that it would launch a new focus group project to view its products and daily operations through the eyes of mothers, who are among the restaurant's most critical customers.

In Japan, the company's popularity and trustworthiness has fallen considerably after it was discovered that a supplier potentially shipped expired meat from China. Later, customers at separate restaurant locations in the country discovered a human tooth, a piece of plastic, and a piece of vinyl in their meals.

In a press conference, McDonald's Holding Company president Sarah Casanova stressed that "the most serious concern is the defection of female and family customers," according to The Japan Times.

Lately, McDonald's has been steadily losing customers to the MOS burger chain, the second-largest fast food franchise in the country after McDonald's Japan.

Each month, mothers will meet and evaluate the state of various McDonald's outlets and processing plants, and then publish their findings online through McDonald's Japan's website and social media. The company is hoping that the rigorous scrutiny of a mother's eye will help ensure product safety and increase consumer trust.