OLEAN, N.Y. — Like most children, the first thing Donna Bridenbaker’s grandnieces and grandnephews take out of their McDonald’s Happy Meal boxes isn’t a hamburger or fries — it’s the toy.
Yet the last time they got Happy Meals from the West State Street McDonald’s, the first thing they pulled out was neither food or a prepackaged toy. It was a worm.
The Allegany resident said she found an inch-and-a-half long worm crawling over one of the child’s bag of fries after going through the McDonald’s drive-thru the night of Feb. 23. She reported the incident to the Cattaraugus County Health Department, which has since inspected and cleared the location.
Bridenbaker, who submitted the worm to the health department and supplied photos of the worm to the Times Herald, said customers still have a right to know what happened.
“Finding worms in your food is not only a disgusting thing, but it’s something that just should not ever happen,” she said. “The people who live here … I think that they deserve to know that happened.”
McDonald’s staff declined comment and referred the Times Herald to the location’s operator, Derico of East Amherst Corp. Derico officials, who operate more than 30 McDonald’s locations across Western New York, did not return multiple phone calls from the Times Herald this week.
The health department investigated the complaint the following day on Feb. 24 but found no worms or evidence of an infestation at the location. The McDonald’s’ previous inspection was Dec. 12, which it passed. Health department officials said they will continue to monitor the facility and encourage any other customers who may have had similar issues to come forward.
“(McDonald’s) should take this incident very serious and assure their customers that they will do everything in their power to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” said Dr. Kevin Watkins, Cattaraugus County public health director. “But our inspection shows that the facility has passed inspection, and we find no means to show any form of action at this particular time.”
The health department is unsure how the worm ended up in the Happy Meal, Watkins said. Test results show the worm was an earthworm, which Watkins said are normally hibernating in the ground to stay warm during this time of year.
He said any suggestions the worm got into the McDonald’s from a delivery of packaged apples, or even that the worm was intentionally put in the Happy Meal by someone, is just speculation.
“It’s really difficult to pinpoint how this worm got there,” he said.
Beyond general unpleasantness, Watkins said consuming earthworms or having them near food is a health risk. They’re usually covered in bacteria from living in the ground, which if ingested can lead to gastritis, which can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
“However it is not as harmful compared to other worms that might live in food sources like pork,” Watkins added. “Those are other types of worms that can lead to an infestation of worms that will tend to colonize within the gut itself.”
Bridenbaker immediately returned the food to the restaurant after discovering the worm and received her money back for the meals but was unhappy with what she perceived as a lack of concern from McDonald’s staff. She said McDonald’s should have stopped serving food until they could be certain there were no other worms.
“I was so dumbfounded by the whole thing, by the lack of concern, by the lack of trying to help us,” she said. “I understand things can happen, but at that moment, things should have stopped being given out and they should see if there’s anymore.”
Corporate sent Bridenbaker McDonald’s coupons, but she is unsure she will eat there again. She said her grandniece had a nightmare about eating worms.
Watkins said the county takes food safety as a priority and is sorry the incident occurred at a facility in the county.
“It’s now the establishment’s job to try and make right with the customer and at least try to reassure future customers that this incident will not happen again,” he said.
