India’s crackdown on McDonald’s ‘real cheese’ sparks wider investigation into fast-food chains KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Domino’s.

The western Indian state of Maharashtra will inspect the outlets of global fast food brands to check whether they use cheese alternatives in products misrepresented as containing real cheese, widening the oversight beyond the crackdown on McDonald’s, a senior official said.

The controls threaten to cause headaches for global brands after recent inflationary pressures hit consumption of expensive burgers and pizza for many Indian consumers, prompting companies to launch discounted offers.

Westlife Foodworld, India’s largest McDonald’s franchisee, defended its use of “real cheese” after media reports state authorities discovered last year that some products used so-called cheese analogues vegetable oil, rather than real cheese.

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The McDonald’s franchisee disagreed with the findings, but in December it removed the word “cheese” from the names of many burgers and nuggets it sells across the state, according to letters seen by Reuters.

State Food and Drug Administration inspectors will now visit all McDonald’s locations, as well as those of other major brands, to check for similar violations of display and labeling rules, its leader, Abhimanyu Kale, told Reuters.

“We plan to check all McDonald’s outlets,” he said.

“We will also take action against other well-known and frequently visited global fast food chains,” he added, but declined to identify the targeted brands.

Another senior state government official, who requested anonymity, said inspectors would visit Indian franchise stores of brands including Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King and KFC.

Indian state authorities have the power to suspend the licenses of restaurants that have violated food and food safety regulations in a way that misleads consumers.

Westlife, which runs McDonald’s in western and southern India, will welcome any inspection and maintain the “highest standards”, its chief executive Saurabh Kalra said.

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Domino’s franchisee Jubilant FoodWorks, Burger King operator Restaurant Brands Asia and Devyani International, which operates Yum Brands’ Pizza Hut and KFC in India, did not respond to Reuters’ questions.

Another Pizza Hut operator, India’s Sapphire Foods, declined to comment.

The state of Maharashtra, in western India, is the second most populous. Home to the financial capital Mumbai and many urban cities, it is a key market for global fast food brands.

In the case of McDonald’s, state food inspectors in November suspended the license of an outlet east of Mumbai for allegedly using analogues in products advertised as containing cheese.

“Our cheese is made only from real milk and we do not use any cheese substitutes or analogues,” he said Monday.

The suspension was later revoked on appeal by Westlife, the McDonald’s franchisee.

The company reassured many consumers online who had expressed concerns about its cheese offering, saying on social network

“Our cheese is made only from real milk and we do not use any cheese substitutes or analogues,” he said Monday.