‘Dirty’ UK McDonald’s branch fined £497k after serving mouse poo in cheeseburger

A UK-based McDonald’s branch has been slapped with a near-half-million pound fine after a litany of disgusting discoveries, including animal faeces being served to a customer.

The customer found mouse droppings in a cheeseburger from the Leytonstone, East London, restaurant leading to an investigation from Waltham Forest Council.

Lisa Honeycomb’s complaint to the council came after she visited the restaurant via the drive-thru on October 7 in 2021.

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Halfway through the meal she discovered the poo with further investigation from council officials leading to more shocking finds, MyLondon reported.

Waltham Forest environmental health officers went on to uncover an “infestation” of mice – with poo in the prep area and even the rotting corpse of one of the little rodents stuck on the head of a mop.

An “imminent health risk” was declared and the restaurant was forced to shut down for 10 days in 2021.

People halfway through eating their meals were asked to leave as they sat down and scoffed their food.

Staff are understood to have signed off on the completion of hygiene-related tasks

On May 2 this year, the case was heard in Thameside Magistrates Court where the international chain was slapped with a £475,000 fine for the breach of hygiene laws after the restaurant admitted to three charges of hygiene breaches.

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District Judge Susan Holdham said: “McDonald's is a very reputable company. When customers go to McDonald's, they expect and have the right to expect the highest standards in food hygiene.

“This is not some backstreet burger or kebab bar – children go to McDonald’s as a treat.

“The premises was dirty, this was built-up grease and dirt caused by non-existent or ineffective cleaning over long periods of time.”

The premises were inspected twice a month by a third-party pest-control firm with the judge adding her surprise that neither they nor staff had noticed the decomposing mouse.

This marks just the second time the 1299-strong UK chain has been convicted for breaches of health and safety legislation in the UK.

She noted this was a failure on a local level and that the chain in general has a good safety record.

A spokesperson for McDonald’s told the Daily Star: “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.

“We have worked closely with our Primary Authority, London Borough of Barnet, for many years on our food safety processes and controls, and whilst we have extensive food safety systems in place, unfortunately these were not adequately implemented at this restaurant on this occasion.

"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.”

Waltham Forest Council’s cabinet member for community safety 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.”

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