Lexington woman finds needle in her hamburger

Lexington woman finds needle in her hamburger

By DEMETRIUS HARRISON

Staff Writer

A McDonald’s franchise in the Hamburg shopping area in Fayette County is under fire after a woman reported discovering the tip of a needle in her hamburger.

Erin Spellman, the woman’s stepdaughter, posted an image of the needle on her Facebook account. It seemed to resemble an insulin pen.

Although the post has now been removed, Spellman included an extreme caution along with the photograph.

According to the Lexington Herald Leader, the post reads, “Just thought I’d scare everyone with something that personally happened to my family today – my dad and stepmom were eating at the McDonald’s in Hamburg and found a NEEDLE in her hamburger. Health dept has been called but fair warning … do NOT go there!!!”

This is not McDonald’s first time making headlines for finding needles in their food products. A New Zealand woman found a needle in her Happy Meal. However, after the woman went home, she discovered her 20-package of needles was one short, accidentally placing the needle in her Happy Meal herself.

Spokesman Kevin Hall for the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department sent out confirmation on August 13, 2018 that the county’s health department has paid a visit to the McDonald’s located at 1921 Plaudit Place.

Hall released a statement via e-mail commenting, “A health inspector visited the restaurant, surveyed the ingredients used to make the burger and found no evidence of contaminations.”

Photograph of needle woman found in her hamburger. The needle appears to be the tip of an insulin pen.

SOURCE: Lexington Herald Leader

The inspector noted that he, “also spoke with the restaurant’s managers, who reported that they and their staff had no idea how the needle could have been found in the burger.”

The restaurant’s owner, Denise Long, noted, “We take this allegation very seriously, as food safety is a top priority. We are working to verify the facts and welcome the partnership with the health department in this matter.”

The health inspector has forwarded a list of the manufacturer lot numbers of all food products used at the McDonald’s franchise to the Kentucky Department for Public Health for further investigation.

Hall mentioned he will contact the suppliers to further investigate how the needle was placed in the hamburger.

Spellman said her stepmother and father had taken her 5-year-old son to McDonald’s, as well.

The woman commented, “I’ve got kids. That could have been my kid’s hamburger. That’s why I want people to know.” Spellman’s stepmother found the needle when she bit into the burger. “It was in her mouth,” she told the Lexington Herald Leader.

The family immediately took her stepmom to the emergency room at St. Joseph East Hospital to get a Hepatitis B vaccination administered and antibiotics for the issue.

The Lexington McDonald’s franchise remains open.