Eww Gross...Big Bug Found In McDonald's Apple Pie

[bloodrayne]

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Revolted customer crusades for justice after she finds big bug 'staring' at her in McDonald's pie

PEORIA - When a Central Peoria resident bit into her McDonald's pie a month ago, she was expecting a tasty, sweet treat, but was revolted to find a 1-inch bug inside.

Pam Gaston said she was at home eating a pie from McDonald's, 1017 W. Main St., when she discovered a brown and black insect nestled among the sugary apples.

"I looked down to take a bite, and there it was, staring me right in the face," Gaston said.

In the past month, she's been trying to do two things: Get appropriate compensation because of her experience and make sure McDonald's pies are safe. She's had varying degrees of success.

The Illinois Department of Public Health is looking into her claim, and officials say the manufacturing plant where the supposed bug likely originated will be inspected. McDonald's pie manufacturer is The Bama Cos. Inc., based in Tulsa, Okla.

Bill Whitman, a spokesman for McDonald's at its headquarters in Oak Park, said Thursday that Bama has been notified of the complaint, but no changes in procedure had been made.

"We have no reason to believe it came from the supplier, considering that we serve so many pies to restaurants on a daily basis, and our food safety standards are so high," he said.

Whitman said in his seven years at McDonald's, he's never seen a complaint like this. While he didn't come right out and say that the bug could have been planted, he said the company would be testing for it. Gaston sent the pie to McDonald's offices Tuesday and is waiting on results.

But restaurant owner Terry Clark was openly skeptical.

"In cases like this, when something's been found in a product, 99 percent of the time, particularly in a frozen pie, it's something that someone's put there," he said, refusing to comment further until the testing is complete.

The preliminary results should be available next week.

For her trouble, all Gaston has gotten is a refund for the four apple pies she bought and gift certificates for three Extra Value Meals.

Considering that she'll never eat at McDonald's again, this initial gesture from a restaurant manager meant little. She says she's forever damaged.

"I'm not going to any McDonald's ever again, I will never eat apple pies again, I will never eat apples again," said Gaston, who saved the pie as evidence.

Gaston has considered suing the company, but lawyers have said she can't. She doesn't have a case because she didn't eat the bug and get physically ill.

"What this makes it look like is that it's OK to have a bug in your food. And that's not fair to the customers," she said.

Gaston filed a complaint with the Peoria City/County Health Department Monday. An inspector visited the restaurant Tuesday and determined that the supposed bug likely didn't get into the pie there. Instead, it probably was baked into the pie.

But upon examining the restaurant, the inspector did note that "a large amount of flies" were present. Owner Clark said he would bring in an exterminator more often, according to the report. Past health inspections and complaints for the McDonald's weren't available at the time of publication.

Because the Health Department only deals with local restaurant issues, it forwarded the pie report to the state health department, which makes sure plants are inspected in cases like this. Marlena Bordson of the Illinois Department of Public Health said the plant where the pie originated would be inspected.

"The goal is to prevent future occurrences," said Bordson, chief of the division of Food, Drugs and Dairies at the department.

Bordson said the inspection likely won't happen immediately because it's not a high priority - while a bug baked into a pie is certainly gross, it's not harmful.

"It's definitely not something we want to see in a food product, but it's not a critical defect," she said.

A Bama spokeswoman declined to comment about the pies that are baked at the plant, shipped to restaurants frozen and then reheated.

Gaston said she's tired of feeling like no one at McDonald's believes her. She's adamant she didn't fake the incident, and she's hoping the tests will prove her right.

"I'm not a liar. I'm a very clean person," she said. "I'm not going to purchase food and put something in it to try to seek attention."

[horror_master]

NIce one. I hoped she didn't bite the bug in half