It's already hard enough to have dietary restrictions. It’s even worse when food brands seemingly introduce vegan or vegetarian inclusive options, only for customers to be disappointed by the taste or even worse, feel duped when their dietary requirements are not respected.
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As reported by The Star, a 25- year-old Sheffield woman was left shocked and horrified when she brought a vegan burger from McDonald’s only to find the last thing she ever expected, inside her food.
McDonald’s ‘not safe’ for vegans and vegetarians?
Emelia Hardiman ordered a McPlant burger via McDonald’s online delivery service. McPlant burger has been advertised by the company as a vegan burger and being ‘vegan certified,’ which means that there should not be any animal products in the food (including by-products) such as meat, milk, or even eggs.
When the customer’s got her food, she noticed to her horror that there was a piece of bacon placed inside her burger.
After finding bacon inside the vegan burger, The Star quoted the angry customer as saying,
I’ve come to the conclusion that McDonald’s is no longer a safe place for vegetarians, vegans and even some religious groups to eat at.
Not adhering to the dietary claims could have serious consequences for the consumers. But as per the customer, complaining to the restaurant did not get anything beyond a cursory response saying, ‘things like this can happen accidentally.’
The customer further stated,
I won’t be eating in McDonald’s again because if it’s just an accident then how often does this happen? Why do I need to check my sandwich every time I get one? It makes me uncomfortable to eat there.
McDonald’s response
The Star reached out to the McDonald’s restaurant for a comment about the matter. A spokesperson is quoted as saying,
We absolutely recognise that it is not acceptable to serve meat when a vegan product has been ordered. We take order accuracy extremely seriously and have a number of procedures in place to avoid inaccurate orders and we are disappointed that we fell short on this occasion.
The restaurant also stated that they apologised to the customer and offered to replace the meal as soon as they found out about the incident.
Sources used:
The Star: ‘McDonald's Archers Road: Woman blasts Sheffield restaurant after finding bacon in vegan McPlant burger’
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