Buzz
Fast food offers unmatched convenience, not just satisfying hunger but also bringing joy. The satisfying crunch of a perfectly cooked french fry, the rich flavor of high-quality meat, and the irresistible pull of melted cheese create an experience that’s hard to resist.
Sometimes, customers intentionally tamper with their meals to secure free food or financial compensation. If the fast-food establishment uncovers such deceit, the repercussions for the scammer can be severe.
However, the issue isn’t always the customer. Picture discovering a strand of hair in your crispy chicken wings. While unpleasant, it pales in comparison to stumbling upon an entire fried chicken head, perfectly preserved and disturbingly intact.
Food contamination happens more often than we’d prefer to admit. It not only poses health risks but can also tarnish a fast-food brand’s reputation. These incidents may stem from staff negligence or issues at the chain’s production facilities.
Regardless, here are 10 of the most shocking discoveries ever made in fast food.
Warning: Some of these accounts are unsettling. Avoid reading them during meals.
10. Condom
In Fribourg, Switzerland, a seven-year-old girl found what appeared to be a balloon in her McDonald’s Happy Meal. It was tucked among her french fries. Curious as children are, she showed it to her mother and inquired about the strange shape of this “balloon.”
Unsurprisingly, her mother was appalled. She contacted the police, who sent the “balloon” for testing to assess whether the condom posed a health hazard to the child.
The McDonald’s branch in Switzerland chose not to comment on the incident due to the ongoing investigation. It’s possible the chef was overly enthusiastic while preparing the “Happy Meal.”
9. Bandage
While finding the wrong toppings on your pizza can be disappointing, Ken Wieczerza from Ballston Lake, New York, faced a far more disturbing situation. He bit into a bandage, still stained with blood, on his pizza slice.
Fortunately, he sensed the unusual texture and spat it out before swallowing. The bright blue medical bandage was baked into the crust’s underside, hiding it from view. He attempted to resolve the issue with Pizza Hut, the chain responsible for the pizza, but the company ceased communication.
Wieczerza clarified that he didn’t aim to tarnish the company’s reputation. He only wanted them to cover the cost of testing the blood on the bandage to ensure it wasn’t contaminated with diseases. He preserved the bandage in a freezer as evidence while consulting legal experts.
8. Maggots
A woman in Sydney, Australia, visited a McDonald’s restaurant to savor a Big Mac with her friend Michael. After Michael finished his burger, she began eating hers. Upon taking a bite, she was horrified to find small wormlike creatures wriggling in the meat patty. She showed it to Michael, who immediately rushed to the bathroom to vomit.
A McDonald’s Australia spokesperson claimed the maggots couldn’t have originated from their restaurant, as their food is cooked at extremely high temperatures. However, since the maggots were still alive and moving in the patty, how did they endure the cooking process?
7. Tooth
Approximately four years ago, a customer in Japan reported finding a human tooth in his french fries. McDonald’s issued an apology for the incident. However, similar occurrences have been reported at the same location.
The restaurant acknowledged that another customer found a plastic fragment in an ice cream sundae, while yet another discovered a vinyl piece in their chicken nuggets. McDonald’s Japan pledged to take measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
6. Chicken Head
In 2000, Katherine Ortega bought a box of chicken wings from a McDonald’s, only to discover a fully intact, fried chicken head among them. She was preparing the meal for her children at home when she noticed one wing had an unusual shape.
The incident sparked widespread coverage in newspapers and even made it into The Washington Post. While various theories exist about how this could have occurred, several compelling explanations have been proposed.
It’s highly unlikely the chicken head ended up in the batch of raw wings, as the processing method removes the head early on. Another possibility is that it was a disturbing prank by one of the McDonald’s employees.
USDA officials stated they had never encountered such a case before but emphasized they didn’t disregard Ortega’s account.
5. Mouse
Patrons of a Subway in Lincoln City, Oregon, might have consumed spinach contaminated by a deceased rodent. The state health department assured that the incident posed no significant health risk, but it certainly tarnished the restaurant’s reputation. Health inspectors, after consulting medical experts, determined the likelihood of illness was minimal.
Matt Jones, who found the dead animal in his friend Jay’s sandwich, snapped a photo. Initially, he laughed in disbelief, while Jay was visibly disgusted by the discovery.
According to staff, Jay requested spinach on his sandwich. The employee used the last portion of spinach from the batch, unknowingly including the rodent. This implies that anyone who consumed spinach from that batch may have been exposed to the contaminated food.
4. Human Skin
While enjoying a sandwich from Arby’s in Tipp City, Ohio, David Scheiding found a piece of skin on his chicken sandwich. Measuring about 1.9 centimeters (0.75 in), it even appeared to have fingerprints. Scheiding felt nauseated and rushed to the restroom.
Miami County health inspectors spoke with the restaurant manager, who had a bandaged right thumb covered by a latex glove. He admitted cutting his finger while shredding lettuce. Although he sanitized the area afterward, he didn’t discard the lettuce, which ended up in Scheiding’s sandwich.
Scheiding rejected a settlement offer from GZK Inc., the owners of the Arby’s location, and filed a lawsuit seeking over $50,000. While numerous news outlets covered the lawsuit’s filing, no reports on the outcome were found.
3. Painkillers
In 2010, two customers at a Burger King in Jacksonville, Florida, found a mysterious blue pill in their meals. A 21-year-old woman called the police after spitting out the pill and visited a fire station to assess potential effects. Similarly, a 58-year-old man discovered a blue pill in his fish sandwich.
The blue pills were identified as hydrocodone, a painkiller. Following an investigation, police linked the incident to employee Woody Bernard Duclos, who had prepared the sandwiches. Duclos, previously suspended for unrelated misconduct, was arrested and pleaded guilty to two counts of food tampering with intent to harm.
Another Burger King employee was arrested in connection with the case, charged with purchasing or possessing a controlled substance with intent to sell. This employee allegedly sold three hydrocodone pills to Duclos for $10.
2. Needles
Clark Bartholomew, a retired soldier, was enjoying a meal at a Burger King on Schofield Barracks in Honolulu. While eating a Triple Stacker, he felt something unusual slide down his throat. Ignoring it initially, he continued eating until something sharp pierced his tongue.
He had accidentally pricked his tongue with a potentially contaminated needle and swallowed another, which became lodged in his small intestine.
Despite multiple settlement offers from the restaurant, Bartholomew insisted on pursuing legal action against Burger King. Ultimately, he resolved the matter through an out-of-court settlement with the fast-food chain.
1. Human Blood
A woman visiting a Louisville KFC/Taco Bell claimed to find traces of human blood on her order. She and her one-year-old daughter had already started eating their meals on the way home. Blood was smeared on the exterior of the wrappers and even inside, where it came into contact with the food.
Briana Ralston, the victim of this contamination incident, contacted Taco Bell to complain. She was informed the blood came from an employee who had cut their finger. Ralston then sought the help of a lawyer, reported the issue to the health department, and shared her story with local media.
