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Topics: McDonalds, Food and Drink, US News, Drugs
Emily Brown
Topics: McDonalds, Food and Drink, US News, Drugs
A McDonald's restaurant in Ohio was forced to close after a customer claimed to have found a crack pipe among their order.
That's not exactly the Happy Meal toy you might be hoping for, is it?
The customer claimed to have made the unexpected discovery on Tuesday (19 December), when they visited McDonald's at 619 Harrisburg Pike on the West Side of Columbus to buy breakfast.
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After opening the bag, they were shocked to find the 'pipe' lying inside.
The customer took to Reddit to share news of their find, writing: "Not sure what I should do... Order breakfast from drive thru and a found a crack pipe in the bag... Luckily I'm a adult and not a child opening a happy meal."
The poster claimed they'd notified the manager about the incident, writing: "I [tried] to give the bag to the manager he didn't want to take it back."
After coming across the post, Reddit users encouraged the customer to report the incident to Franklin County Public Health, which forwarded the complaint to Columbus Public Health.
Columbus Public Health then conducted an emergency health inspection at the restaurant.
In a statement to the Columbus Dispatch, franchise owner Alex Mendoza said the safety of his customers and crew was his 'first priority'.
"We’ve begun a thorough internal review of this claim," he continued. "We have no indication that the item came from our restaurant but are continuing to investigate and have contacted local law enforcement to report the matter.”
Following the investigation, the health agency temporarily closed the McDonalds and gave it until 4 January to correct health code violations that it had uncovered.
Health inspectors reported finding multiple violations relating to construction work being carried out in the restaurant, though Mendoza said the closure had nothing to do with the alleged discovery of the crack pipe.
A report from the investigation claimed construction workers were moving freely through the the food preparation and customer seating areas, and that construction equipment, debris, trash and dust were present in the restaurant.
Inspectors said they 'observed construction dust on surfaces of food preparation counters, equipment and flooring', and said food was 'not protected from environmental sources of contamination during preparation'.
The report also stated the restaurant was out of compliance with cleaning and sanitizing food contact surfaces, and protecting food from sources of contamination.
Following the temporary closure, a statement from McDonald's corporate said the restaurant reopened on Thursday (21 December), with a spokesperson from Columbus Public Health confirming the restaurant had been cleared to reopen.
UNILAD has contacted McDonald's for comment.