Troubling scenes have been captured inside a McDonald’s restaurant where multiple creepy-crawlies seem to have set up camp throughout the store.
Cockroaches were seen buzzing around inside the fries, furniture, a bin, and on the floor in exclusive footage released by newy.com.au from the Broadmeadow store, in NSW’s Newcastle area.
Not only was there a roach filmed wriggling around among the outlet’s famous fries, but there were dozens of maggots captured sprawled across a dustpan too.
Footage was released Tuesday evening but it was unclear when it was originally captured.
The website claimed a customer immediately turned off his food after seeing the footage.
“I couldn’t be fu–ed going back in, I’m already late, and that video has ruined my dinner,” he told the publication.
Others on Facebook said they would now be avoiding the restaurant.
“I won’t be going there to buy food anymore,” one wrote in a comment.
Many claimed roaches were unavoidable and existed in most hospitality venues without people knowing, adding it was to be expected particularly when “teenagers” were employed.
“Why is everyone so shocked? These stores are run by teens that can’t even clean their bedrooms, as if they are going to know anything about food safety standards,” one noted.
A McDonald’s spokesperson told news.com.au they were “disappointed” over what the video and photos showed.
“We are disappointed to see these images. This clearly falls short of McDonald’s strict food safety, quality, and hygiene standards,” they said.
“We have taken immediate action at McDonald’s Broadmeadow, including a thorough professional pest inspection and installation of additional pest control measures.
“We’ll continue to work closely with the restaurant, to ensure our customers can feel confident in our commitment to food safety, quality, and a great customer experience.”
It’s not the first time Maccas has been blasted over hygiene concerns, with a Queensland employee captured in May last year drying a mop head under the restaurant’s fries warmer, just centimeters away from food.
The fast-food chain insisted the gross act, which occurred in a branch in the Ipswich suburb of Booval, southwest of Brisbane, was an “isolated incident.”
A short video of the female worker holding what appears to be a detachable microfibre mop head underneath the heater, close to boxes of fries, quickly went viral after being shared by the Subtle Bogan Traits Facebook page.
“So that’s where the flavor comes from,” one person joked.
“Back in our day we just used Angus seasoning for the shaker fries,” another added.
“Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed mop,” a third wrote.
One person quipped: “The old McMop is back! Must be limited time only get in while [they’re] hot.”
