AKIPRESS.COM - Russia's main consumer watchdog has announced unscheduled checks on a number of McDonald's restaurants around Russia as part of an investigation into food standards, BBC reports.

The move comes after watchdog Rospotrebnadzor temporarily shut four McDonald's restaurants in Moscow.

The actions come amid rising tensions and sanctions between Russia and the West over the crisis in the Ukraine.

Rospotrebnadzor denied that the checks were politically motivated.

"There are complaints about the quality and safety of the products in fast food restaurant chain McDonald's," said the regulatory agency.

Unscheduled checks will be made in McDonald's restaurants in the region of Sverdlovsk in west-central Russia, the Volga region of Tatarstan, the central Voronezh region, and the Moscow region.

A McDonald's spokeswoman for European operations said the company was aware that the regulator was carrying out the checks, which would be likely to continue for a couple of months.

The spokeswoman added that McDonald's serves millions of customers a day in Russia, and wanted minimal disruption for them.

A McDonald's spokeswoman in Russia added: "We have always been and are now open to any checks."

According to the Ria Novosti state news agency, checks have been ordered across Russia's Central Federal District, and that inspections of McDonald's in all of Russia's regions will take place.

"There has been a selection of microbiology tests, sanitary and chemical tests, and identification indicators," the watchdog said.