A McDonald’s restaurant located in London was slapped with a fine of more than $6,00,000 after a customer discovered mouse droppings in the burger and filed a complaint.
The place was then visited by the health officers who checked the restaurant and discovered the unhygienic conditions, after which the food chain was fined £4,97,000 (approximately $6,00,000).
The customer found something suspicious in his cheeseburger, only to discover that it was the droppings of the mouse.
As per Waltham Forest Council, the customer had eaten half of the burger when the mouse droppings were noticed.
The complaint against the restaurant was registered in 2021 after which Environmental Health Officers visited McDonald’s.
The officers “found conditions at the premises presented a real risk to the health of customers. Amongst the officers’ findings were the decomposing remains of a mouse and numerous mouse droppings throughout the premises. The inspection also uncovered several areas in the kitchen that were greasy, dirty, and dusty”, as per the report.
The officers felt that the restaurant posed an ‘imminent risk to health’ and hence closed it for ten days.
The restaurant was later reopened after the Council felt that the health conditions of the place were satisfactory.
After McDonald’s was fined at Thames Magistrates’ Court, the Waltham Forest Council posted the news on Twitter and shared pictures of the restaurant’s unhygienic conditions at the time of inspection.
In a press release, Waltham Forest Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety Cllr Khevyn Limbajee said, “We are grateful for the quick thinking of the customer in this case for reporting the matter to the Council for investigation. There was a significant risk posed to the health of residents and visitors to Waltham Forest, and as such, the Council had no option but to take formal action in this case.”
“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. It was appreciated that McDonald’s pleaded guilty and admitted wrongdoing at the first opportunity. However, as a Council, we take food hygiene seriously and won’t hesitate to follow up on complaints and take action where appropriate, irrespective of who operates the food business,” he added.
