A dead mouse and mouse droppings were found inside one of the McDonald’s rodent-infested restaurants in London. As a result, the company was fined £500,000 (around Rs 5 crore).
This occurred after a customer, who was eating a cheeseburger, noticed rodent excrement inside the burger wrapper. According to Waltham Forest Council, the customer noticed the mouse droppings about halfway through eating the burger. The complaint was filed in 2021 and Environmental Health Officers visited the restaurant when they noticed the mouse droppings.
They discovered that there was a genuine risk to the customers’ health at the location. The officers discovered a mouse’s decomposing remains as well as numerous mouse droppings all over the place. The inspection also revealed several greasy, filthy, and dusty spots in the kitchen.
An unchecked mouse infestation was found at the restaurant by environmental health officers from Waltham Forest Council, creating an “imminent risk” to the public’s health. After the inspection, the restaurant was shut down for 10 days, and it wasn’t until the Council cleared its hygienic conditions that it was able to reopen.
The Waltham Forest Council tweeted a picture of the eatery along with the final fine amount of £4,75,000 plus £22,000 for the fast-food chain.
“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,” Cllr Khevyn Limbajee, Waltham Forest Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety said in a press note.
“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.
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