A stomach-churning viral video appears to show a McDonald’s employee shoveling french fries in her mouth and then putting them back in a box, possibly to serve to customers — and now police are investigating.
“So you want french fries today, right?” the woman says to the camera, before placing the fries in her mouth while a coworker laughs behind her in the kitchen of the East Main Street McDonald’s in Southbridge, Mass., according to the disgusting video obtained by Boston 25 News.
The employee then puts the fries back in the box, the vile video shows.
“That’s disgusting, are you kidding me?” one outraged local, Jim, told the outlet after watching the clip.
“It’s not sanitary,” he said. “I’m done with this McDonald’s, at least, and I’ll be done for quite a while with fast food.”
“I think it’s crazy that people are messing with other people’s food,” another grossed-out woman said. “I thought it was disgusting, honestly.”
The Southbridge Police Department and city’s Board of Health were alerted to the video, which originally was shared in a private message exchange, according to the Boston Globe.
The gross clip was leaked online and has gone viral since then.
Police confirmed they’ve received “numerous” calls, online tips and media inquiries about the video, and are actively investigating.
“We are aware of a video circulating online involving an employee at a local fast food restaurant allegedly contaminating food before it was served,” the police department said in a statement.
“We are also working to determine whether the food was ultimately served to a customer and to identify any individual who may have been affected.”
The Spadea and Balducci families, who own and operate the Southbridge McDonald’s, said that the employees in the video have been fired. They have not been identified.
“The actions of these individuals are unacceptable and do not reflect our organization’s food safety standards or values. We conducted an internal review, and they are no longer employed by our organization,” the families said in a joint statement.
“We are proactively working with local authorities and the local health department, who found no public health concerns or violations. The wellbeing and safety of our Southbridge community remains our top priority,” the message concluded.
