A French woman is suing McDonald’s after it offered her a “10 percent discount” when she was bitten by a lizard that found its way into her burger.
The 30-year-old woman ordered the Big Tasty from the fast food giant’s store in Saint-Witz, in the Val d’Oise area, outside Paris.
The events took place in February 2021, but the legal case has just come to light.
The plaintiff, known only as Pamela (not her real name), took a bite but smelled something fishy about the food.
“I felt there was something strange,” he told Le Parisien, which broke the story. “I opened [the burger] and discovered a crushed lizard with its entrails hanging out.”
Her friend Christelle added: “She was covered in sauce. The cook must have seen it.”
“They weren’t surprised”
Despite only biting the reptile, Pamela was concerned because she was still breastfeeding her eight-month-old son and had read that lizards can carry a number of harmful bacteria, including salmonella.
As a result, she decided to stop breastfeeding. “I was mostly scared” of the health consequences, he said.
When she returned to the restaurant that evening, she said the staff were unapologetic and could only offer her a “10 percent discount” on her next meal as compensation.
“I got the impression they weren’t surprised,” he said. “The cook was there and at no time did he come to see us. The supervisor wasn’t there.”
Lizard preserved as an exhibition in the refrigerator
That night, she said she had trouble sleeping and the next day, feeling unwell, went to see a doctor who prescribed a course of antibiotics as a precaution.
Later, a manager finally called to offer to put her in touch with the company’s insurer. “That means they acknowledged there was a problem. What I really wanted was for them to say sorry,” Pamela said.
He contacted a lawyer, Frederick Petitpermon, who kept the offending lizard as an exhibit in his refrigerator for several weeks in case it needed to be sent to a lab for testing.
However, Petitpermon said food safety authorities were not contacted.
He has now filed charges against McDonald’s for “endangering the lives of others”. The hearing must take place next February.
“Food quality is a priority”
Management at the McDonald’s outlet insisted they had taken the complaint “very seriously” and had ordered an internal investigation into the branch and found “nothing untoward”.
“He will continue to transmit to justice any necessary evidence,” he told Le Parisien. “Food quality and safety is the brand’s top priority and as a result numerous audits and controls are applied throughout the development of our menus,” he said.
France is the world’s largest consumer of McDonald’s meals after the United States.