McDonald’s Issues Statement Following Pest Incident At Sunny Isle Restaurant

In the wake of a customer’s complaint of a dead roach being found at the bottom of a beverage she purchased Thursday at the McDonald’s restaurant in Sunny Isle, St. Croix, Arcos Dorados — the largest operator of McDonald’s restaurants in Latin America and the Caribbean, including the territory’s locations — responded to VI Consortium’s inquiry about the incident, stating that the company’s records show “the latest pest control cleaning services in the Sunny Isle store were made on February 25, 2015, February 16, 2015 and February 3, 2015 by a specialized company.”

The statement went on to say the company is investigating the incident at the store “where no allegations of this type have been received before.”

Furthermore, McDonald’s says in keeping with company protocol, all of its restaurants “have regular sanitary cleaning and pest control maintenance.  Besides the daily cleaning of our restaurant by our employees, thorough cleaning and inspection is performed approximately every two weeks by a specialized company to continue the delivery of good service, cleanliness, and value.”

The company says it is cooperating with Health Department officials who inspected the restaurant following the incident.

The woman contacted VI Consortium Thursday and reported purchasing a Big Mac combo special and a small fruit punch drink at the restaurant at around 11:30 that morning. After consuming most of the beverage, the woman said she lifted the lid from the paper cup to retrieve a handful of ice to munch on. It was at that time she noticed the dead pest floating in the small amount of juice remaining in the cup.

The woman said she became sickened by the incident and returned to the restaurant to alert the manager.

VI Consortium has placed multiple calls to the Health Department’s public relations office for comment, but have not received a return phone call.

VI Consortium will continue to follow this story.

The McDonald’s statement can be seen in its entirety immediately below:

For McDonald’s the quality and safety of our food is our biggest priority, as such we are committed to maintaining a clean and safe environment for all our customers.  McDonald’s has the highest standards in the industry regarding quality and cleaning of all our restaurants and follow strict procedures to assure that all food and equipment areas are clean and sanitized.  We strive to maintain the highest possible standards of quality, service, cleanliness and value for our customers.

In keeping with our commitment, we are investigating the alleged incident reported in our Sunny Isle restaurant yesterday, where no allegations of this type have been received before.   We are fully cooperating with the Health Department officials who inspected the area.   It is important to mention, that the client returned with the beverage after leaving the restaurant. 

As part of our protocol, all of our McDonald’s restaurants have regular sanitary cleaning and pest control maintenance.  Besides the daily cleaning of our restaurant by our employees, thorough cleaning and inspection is performed approximately every two weeks by a specialized company to continue the delivery of good service, cleanliness, and value.  Our records indicate that the latest pest control cleaning services in the Sunny Isle store were made on February 25, 2015, February 16, 2015 and February 3, 2015 by a specialized company. 

Feature Image: McDonald’s in the Sunny Isle Food Court, St. Croix, on March 5