McDonald’s has apologised after a Canadian customer was served coffee containing cleaning fluid at one of its restaurants.
Sarah Douglas, who is 32 weeks pregnant, ordered a latte at a McDonald’s in Lethbridge, southern Alberta, while taking her son to a baseball game on Sunday morning.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“I immediately had to put my hazard lights on and pull over and spit it out and rinse my mouth out,” she told local news website Lethbridgenewsnow.com.
“I opened up the lid of the coffee and out pours this pungent smell of chemical. It wasn’t a latte at all.”
Instead, she had been served a “watery-brownish” solution of coffee and cleaning agent containing chemicals including citric acid and phosphoric acid.
“My tongue felt fuzzy and my mouth felt almost numb,” she told news channel CTV Calgary.
When she returned to the restaurant to complain, she says the supervisor on duty responded by offering her a replacement coffee.
“I said, ‘absolutely not, this is unacceptable’,” she told the website.
The franchisee of the Lethbridge McDonald’s, has since issued an apology for the incident, which he says was the result of a mix-up during scheduled cleaning.
“What happened is that the machine was being cleaned – as it is every morning. Unfortunately, the milk supply line was connected to the cleaning solution while this guest’s drink was made,” Dan Brown said.
“We have taken immediate action to review the proper cleaning procedures with the team and have put additional signage up as an added reminder.”
-
Can Mike Johnson keep his job?Today's Big Question GOP women come after the House leader
-
A postapocalyptic trip to Sin City, a peek inside Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour, and an explicit hockey romance in December TVthe week recommends This month’s new television releases include ‘Fallout,’ ‘Taylor Swift: The End Of An Era’ and ‘Heated Rivalry’
-
‘These accounts clearly are designed as a capitalist alternative’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
