McDonald's Selling Chicken McNuggets by the Bucket in Japan

If putting in two orders of 20 McNuggets is too much work, McDonald's Japan has the solution: buckets with 48 chicken McNuggets.

The bucket will be available starting Dec. 1 and is part of a promotion with the J-Pop group NGT 48, which explains why the bucket will have 48 nuggets instead of 50. The menu item will also only be available at the 38 McDonald's in NGT 48's home city, Niigata.

According to McDonald's Japan, the special 38 restaurants will also have autographed posters by members of the band and special NGT 48-branded trays. A lucky 500 customers will get to buy the buckets directly from NGT 48 members.

And in case you were concerned about dipping sauces, orders will come with 10 total BBQ sauce and mustard dipping sauce packets. There are also two different bucket designs and each comes with two NGT 48 cards. Each bucket costs ¥1,800 (about $16.23).

The big bucket of McNuggets is one way for McDonald's Japan to try to get some positive press after last month, when the Japanese Government criticized the company for using fake roast beef to advertise the Tokyo Roast Beef Burger. The advertisements showed roast beef being sliced, which could convince customers that the meat is cut straight from the block and then served to the customer. In reality, the meat is processed and reformed meat.

Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency said the company violated the Law Against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, and McDonald's Japan apologized for "insufficiently explaining" their sandwich.

According to Japan Today, McDonald's Japan apologized earlier this month when a man found tooth-like pieces inside his Sausage Egg McMuffin. McDonald's Japan offered the customer a full refund and said it will launch an investigation into the incident.

Back in the U.S., McDonald's scrambled to stop selling salads in more than 3,000 locations last month after more than 200 people in 15 states became sick. The state health departments in Iowa and Illinois launched an investigation after an increase of cases involving cyclosporiasis, which was also linked to Del Monte Vegetables.

On Aug. 3, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention released an updated count, confirming that 395 people have become ill after eating tainted McDonald's salads, including 202 in Illinois alone.

The USDA found that supplier Fresh Express was to blame. The company said none of its tainted salads were sold at retail.

"At Fresh Express, our top priority is providing consumers with the highest quality and safest fresh lettuce and leafy greens products available," the company said, reports USA Today. "As of now, there is no clear understanding about the contamination pathway or the definitive source of infection."

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