BEIJING: Burger King has apologised to customers in China after state media reported that two of the US fast food chain's outlets sold expired food in the country, causing an uproar on social media. Food safety issues have long been a concern in China, where quality-control scandals have fuelled fears over the safety of food and anger at regulatory lapses.

The problems at the two restaurants were highlighted on Thursday in an influential consumer affairs programme on state television CCTV that has previously shamed McDonald's in China.

A Burger King in Nanchang, in central Jiangxi province, had used expired ingredients to make its burgers, according to the programme. Video footage also showed staff tearing off the shelf time label from a package of expired bread and replacing them with new ones upon instructions of the restaurant manager.