An Australian McDonald’s employee was caught drying a wet mop under a heat lamp, sparking disgust from customers in the store and online. Debbie Barakat witnessed the employee holding the mop near the fry station’s hot lights and fries while waiting for her order at the Booval location in Brisbane. Other employees also worked around the mop-dryer for about a minute, grabbing fries to complete orders. The employee had just finished mopping the floor with the detachable microfiber mop head before starting to dry it in front of customers.
Barakat was shocked by what she witnessed and reported the incident to the store manager. The manager responded vaguely, saying that corrective action would be taken to prevent a similar incident from happening again. McDonald’s Australia stated that this was an isolated incident and that the chain takes food safety seriously, following strict cleaning, sanitization, and hygiene procedures in all restaurants. The employee involved in the incident will apparently keep her job, as the company works on better training for all workers on sanitization, hygiene, and food safety procedures.
Social media users were equally disgusted by the incident, with some making jokes about the situation. One person humorously suggested that the fries may as well be swept around on the floor for added flavor, while another person mentioned their astonishment at the violations made for safety and hygiene when they worked at McDonald’s. Some jokingly referenced the incident by creating variations of the Big Mac recipe that included mops or mentioning the “McMop” as a limited-time special.
The incident highlighted concerns about hygiene and food safety procedures at McDonald’s and the importance of proper training for employees. The company’s response to the incident included re-training all employees on sanitization, hygiene, and food safety procedures to prevent such incidents from happening again. Despite the unpleasant nature of the incident, McDonald’s assured customers that they take food safety extremely seriously and are committed to maintaining high standards in their restaurants. The public reaction to the incident shows the impact that a lack of hygiene and safety procedures can have on a company’s reputation and customer trust in the food service industry.
McDonald’s addressed the incident with the store directly and conducted thorough re-training for all employees on hygiene and food safety practices. The company emphasized the importance of adhering to strict cleaning procedures to ensure the safety and well-being of customers. While the incident was a cause for concern, McDonald’s took steps to rectify the situation and improve training for employees to prevent similar incidents in the future. The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of upholding high standards of hygiene and food safety in the fast-food industry to protect the health and satisfaction of customers.
