McDonald’s had to pay a huge sum for lack of hygiene.
Photo: DANIEL LEAL/AFP / Getty Images
A McDonald’s branch in east London was fined some $596,949 after mouse droppings were discovered in the wrapper of a cheeseburger.
The customer named Lisa Honeycomb purchased the hamburger in question at the drive-thru of McDonald’s Leytonstone on October 7, 2021 and found the animal’s excrement halfway through eating it.
At that moment, Evening Standard reported that when Honeycomb complained to the Waltham Forestry Council, inspectors were dispatched to the restaurant.
Arriving, found an ongoing rodent infestationwhich included droppings in the food preparation area and a “decaying” mouse on a mop head.
Food hygiene inspectors ordered the 24-hour branch closed on October 15, citing an “imminent health risk.”
Nearly two and a half years later, last Tuesday, at Thames Magistrates Court, Fast food giant ordered to pay £475,000 for breaching food hygiene lawsequivalent to $596,949 dollars.
District Judge Susan Holdham said, according to the outlet, that “McDonald’s is a very reputable company. When customers go to McDonald’s, they expect and are entitled to expect the highest standards in food hygiene.”
“The place was dirty, it was accumulated grease and dirt caused by non-existent or ineffective cleaning for long periods,” he added.
The court heard that the pest control company “Ecolab” had a contract to inspect the Leytonstone branch for pests twice a month, but “overlooked” obvious signs like a “mummified” mouse on top of a deep fryer.
The judge said it was also “very serious” that Ecolab could not explain why its most recent visit before the branch closed lasted only half an hour.
A McDonald’s spokesman said the company apologized “unreservedly” for the hygiene incident and any upset it caused, according to the Evening Standard.
The restaurant giant was ordered Tuesday to pay a £475,000 fine, £22,000 in legal costs and a £190 victim surcharge, or about $600,000.
Keep reading:
· McDonald’s had two 10-year-old boys working in one of its branches
Couple finds McDonald’s fries on bathroom wall preserved after 63 years
· Man is arrested at Buckingham Palace after throwing alleged shotgun shells at the gates
#London #McDonalds #fined #finding #mouse #droppings #burger #wrapper
Source Link
