A viral video taken and shared across social media shows an employee at one of McDonald’s Australian locations has some customers angry.
The incident reportedly happened at a location in Booval, Queensland — a suburb of Brisbane — and showed a female employee of the fast-food behemoth using a heat lamp over the french-fry bin to dry a wet mop head.
That was presumably a mop that had just been used to clean up floors inside the store.
The clip was shot by a woman named Debbie Barakat. It showed other employees going about their business while one of their coworkers — didn’t think twice about potentially contaminating food that was ready to be bagged up and sent out.
McDonald’s manager caught drying a mop head in a fries warmer 🤢
— BoreCure (@CureBore) May 22, 2024
During an interview with Yahoo News Australia, the woman said she took the video on April 4 but only posted it on social media this past week.
She explained that one person who was working behind the counter did alert the employee that drying a mop over freshly cooked fries was not the best idea.
“I was just standing waiting for my order when I looked over and heard a staff member say, ‘I don’t think you should be doing that as it could be a safety issue as it can catch on fire,’” she said.
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She also claimed that the mop remained over the fries for “at least a minute” as other employees retrieved orders of them for customers.
Barakat said she took the incident seriously, but that no one else working there did.
“I was totally shocked at what I witnessed and she just laughed it off,” she said.
As for why she waited more than a month to share her unsettling story with the world, Barakat explained she felt it was time after the store got attention for other issues.
”Something needs to be done, as if they are happy to do something like this in front of customers, what exactly do they do behind the scenes?” she asked.
Other customers interviewed by Yahoo News Australia shared their anger and disgust with the Booval store and McDonald’s in general.
One person called the use of the heat lamp to dry the filthy mop “the most brainless thing I’ve seen this year.”
One more person contacted by the outlet called McDonald’s standards for cleanliness “worse than ever.”
The company responded to the video and said it had taken action, although no apology was issued and it remains unclear whether anyone lost their job over what happened.
“McDonald’s takes food safety extremely seriously and follows strict cleaning, [sanitization] and hygiene procedures in all restaurants,” a McDonald’s Australia representative said in a statement.
“We have addressed this with the restaurant directly and conducted thorough re-training for all employees on McDonald’s [sanitization], hygiene and food safety procedures,” the person added.
The statement concluded, “This was an isolated incident, and we will continue to work with the restaurant to ensure this does not happen again.”
McDonald’s has been under scrutiny throughout the last few months, although not for questions about food safety.
Prices at the restaurant’s store have led to the chain becoming both the butt of jokes and a reminder of inflation’s impact on American life.
McDonald’s Now Offering 36-Month, 0% Interest Financing On All Value Meals https://t.co/DptomFekTM pic.twitter.com/2VmjSHYv3x
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) November 4, 2023
Price increases over last decade…
McDonald’s: +100%
Popeyes: +86%
Taco Bell: +81%
Chipotle: +75%
Jimmy John’s: +62%
Arby’s: +55%
Burger King: +55%
Chick-fil-A: +55%
Wendy’s: +55%
Panera: +54%
Subway: +39%
Starbucks: +39%
US Government Reported Inflation (CPI): +31% pic.twitter.com/OX24vgeinO— Charlie Bilello (@charliebilello) April 11, 2024
McDonald’s is now more expensive than many Diners in my town.
— Timothy Easley (@TimothyDEasley) May 22, 2024
Customers have slowly revolted as the fast-food giant has become so expensive to eat at that in many cases, restaurants such as Chili’s now offer more affordable food choices, according to Restaurant Business Magazine.
