Lancet Jades
02-28-2004, 10:47 PM
Hand-cut fries not so tasty: Fast-food order includes bandage
By Dave Wedge
Saturday, February 28, 2004
A late-night grub run turned stomach-churning for a Cape Cod woman who said she found a bloody bandage in the bottom of her box of french fries.
``I picked up a clump of fries and something falls in my lap. I looked down and picked it up and I was like, `Oh my god.' It was a dirty, bloody Band-Aid in my fries,'' Heather O'Neill said.
The flap began about 1 a.m. Wednesday at the McDonald's restaurant at the Sagamore rotary. O'Neill, a waitress, had been out celebrating Mardi Gras with some girlfriends and was on her way home when she hit the drive-thru for a late-night snack.
She ordered a No. 1 combo - a Big Mac, Coke and fries - paid and started driving home. She ate a few fries on the short ride to her house on Sagamore Beach and continued eating when she got inside. Her mother and fiance shared some of the fries.
She made the sickening discovery as she was nearly done with the fries. O'Neill, 26, went back to the restaurant and lodged a complaint and has spoken with a manager who said she was being sent coupons.
She also complained to the Board of Health, which inspected the McDonald's yesterday but found no violations. O'Neill said she is considering filing a lawsuit.
She said she saved the bandage and wants it tested because she is afraid she could catch a disease. The gruesome find also has prompted her to swear off fast food.
``You can see the blood coming right through the Band-Aid. It's disgusting,'' she said. ``That was in my food, touching my fries that I was eating.''
McDonald's officials said they are investigating the incident.
By Dave Wedge
Saturday, February 28, 2004
A late-night grub run turned stomach-churning for a Cape Cod woman who said she found a bloody bandage in the bottom of her box of french fries.
``I picked up a clump of fries and something falls in my lap. I looked down and picked it up and I was like, `Oh my god.' It was a dirty, bloody Band-Aid in my fries,'' Heather O'Neill said.
The flap began about 1 a.m. Wednesday at the McDonald's restaurant at the Sagamore rotary. O'Neill, a waitress, had been out celebrating Mardi Gras with some girlfriends and was on her way home when she hit the drive-thru for a late-night snack.
She ordered a No. 1 combo - a Big Mac, Coke and fries - paid and started driving home. She ate a few fries on the short ride to her house on Sagamore Beach and continued eating when she got inside. Her mother and fiance shared some of the fries.
She made the sickening discovery as she was nearly done with the fries. O'Neill, 26, went back to the restaurant and lodged a complaint and has spoken with a manager who said she was being sent coupons.
She also complained to the Board of Health, which inspected the McDonald's yesterday but found no violations. O'Neill said she is considering filing a lawsuit.
She said she saved the bandage and wants it tested because she is afraid she could catch a disease. The gruesome find also has prompted her to swear off fast food.
``You can see the blood coming right through the Band-Aid. It's disgusting,'' she said. ``That was in my food, touching my fries that I was eating.''
McDonald's officials said they are investigating the incident.