1 Cockroach Combo Meal, Please? McDonald’s Inspection Finds Gross Violations
A Tampa area McDonald’s location was the focus of a recent investigation after a customer reported a live cockroach falling from the ceiling and right into their food while dining in the restaurant.
The complaint led to a state inspection, but when the inspector arrived at the restaurant, he was denied access to the restaurant’s kitchen facilities, which is not how inspections work—they are unannounced for a reason, and inspectors are typically granted immediate access. Whatever the employees hoped to correct before allowing him entry still resulted in 21 health violations, seven of which the state considers “critical.”
Documented violations include excess grease accumulation found underneath cooking equipment; food and water on the floor; toxic items near utensils used in food preparation; nearly 30 dead cockroaches underneath the front service counter and 5 live roaches near the kitchen sink; and food debris on the ceiling, which would explain why there were cockroaches on the ceiling and falling into customers’ food.
Tampa Bay news station, WTSP, made its own visit to the location and documented flying insects at the service counter, which the state considers a critical violation; they noted ketchup splattered on a seat and food visible on the floor behind the counter.
Generally, McDonald’s locations tend to have pretty good inspection records, and in a statement, the company said that the report was the result of “confusion between the inspector and McDonald’s protocol,”adding that the inspector’s findings were “acted upon and the restaurant is in complete compliance with health regulations.”
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Image: andinarvaez
