On May 2, Panvel resident Nisha Rhal bit into a veg burger at the Vashi outlet of fast food giant McDonald’s, and was shocked to find a jute thread lodged inside.

Nisha says, ‘My family enjoys eating at McDonald’s, and we trust the quality of the food served here. I was, therefore, shocked to find a long jute thread in my burger.’

Moreover, when she complained to the staff, she says that they did not seem overly concerned. Nisha says, ‘After examining the burger, the staff admitted that there was a problem but refused to give me a written apology. Instead, they offered to compensate me, which I refused.’ The staff also asked her to contact the company’s spokeswoman, Amrita Pai, who told her that the burgers were supplied by Vista Foods.

McDonald’s offered to take the burger and have it tested in a laboratory. However, Nisha insists that she will send the sample to a reputed lab herself, as well as file a case in a consumer court on the basis of the laboratory report.

Amrita Pai of McDonald’s said, ‘We are still not sure how such an incident could have occurred, as we have stringent quality control procedures.  We have made note of the complaint and have requested the consumer to give us the sample so that we can send it to our quality control lab for testing. Our company ensures internal quality. We will go through the entire process to locate the fault, if any.’

WHAT TO DO WITH FAULTY FOOD

• Call the food inspector or the health department official of your local civic body for an on-the-spot check.
  You can file a written complaint, along with supporting documents and photographs, with either the local health department or the food adulteration cell of the state government.
  Alternatively, you can take the sample to a food laboratory for testing or file a case in the consumer court on the basis of the laboratory report.
  If the food item is perishable or if adulteration cannot be proved once the packet is opened, take photographs with a digital camera or a high-resolution mobile phone camera. These can serve as proof  of adulteration.