MUMBAI/CHENNAI: An executive at McDonald’s biggest Indian franchisee Westlife Foodworld’s said on Tuesday the country’s food standards authority had verified its claims of using “real cheese” in its food products after a crackdown by Maharashtra state.

The Western state of Maharashtra in November suspended the license of one of McDonald’s outlets in the east of Mumbai for allegedly using cheese analogues of vegetable oil instead of “real cheese” and misleading consumers.

The state later revoked the suspension after an appeal by Westlife, which dropped the word “cheese” from some of its products including burgers and nuggets in December.

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Following the decision from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, Westlife can use names of cheese in all its products given that cheese is one of the key ingredients, Managing Director Saurabh Kalra said in a press conference.