Fast food has become the top choice among food lovers across the globe. Whenever we are in no mood to cook and want to eat something quickly, we hop over to our favourite burger or pizza chain and order a meal. Apart from being affordable and instant meals, these fast food chains also maintain high standards of quality to serve their customers. However, a customer at McDonald's UK was in for a shock when he found mouse droppings in his burger. This week, the burger giant was ordered to pay up to $596,500 (Rs 4.87 crore approximately) in fines to the customer.
As per Daily Mail, the customer had ordered a cheeseburger from McDonald's at their drive-thru outlet in Leytonstone, East London. He was left disgusted after he spotted rodent excrement inside his burger wrapper after he took a bite. The issue was reported to local health authorities, including the Waltham Forest Council. Upon further investigation, they found there was a rodent infestation at the McDonald's UK outlet. They were forced to shut doors for ten days till the health concerns were resolved. Further, the council took legal action against the fast food giant.
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The customer raised the issue with the health authorities immediately. Photo: Pexels
The McDonald's UK franchise pleaded guilty to charges of violating hygiene standards. They were ordered to pay up the fines for posing a risk to the health of their customers. "'McDonald's is a large and well-experienced food business operator in the fast-food sector who serves thousands of meals per week to its customers, therefore the risk presented at the Leytonstone store was significant," said councillor Khevyn Limbajee from Waltham Forest Council.
McDonald's UK, meanwhile, issued a statement after the incident, as per Mirror. "We apologise unreservedly for this incident and for any upset caused. We are committed to the highest standards of health, safety, quality and hygiene and in this instance, we fell short of the standards we set ourselves across all our restaurants," they said. "Following the incident, a full review of policy and procedures was undertaken at both a local and national level to ensure an issue of this nature does not occur again," added McDonald's.