Man claims he found a foreign object in fast food meal

LETHBRIDGE- It was a weekly ‘Whopper’ routine for Jesse Carpenter.

“We basically go every Wednesday,” explained Carpenter. “On this occasion when we went, we ordered the same thing that we always do, we ordered two Whopper meals. After receiving our meals and parking to go eat them, as I was on my last bite of my Whopper I noticed that there was an object in my mouth that I wasn’t quite sure what it was.”

On April 2nd, Carpenter says he visited Burger King at 1950 Third Ave S. with a friend, but claims his meal came with more than what he ordered.

“Basically it felt like a piece of tissue or almost a hand towel that you would use in the kitchen after washing them, something sort of along the lines of that,” said Carpenter.

“It was in my mouth, it was bunched up in a ball and I kind of pulled it out of my mouth and it was like an accordion.”

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Burger King is responding to the allegations with a statement, saying:

“We are aware of a customer complaint that took place last Wednesday evening at the Burger King restaurant located at 1950 3rd Avenue S. in Lethbridge. Since the complaint was received, Alberta Health Services has investigated the situation and cleared the restaurant of any wrongdoing.

This complaint came as quite a surprise to the staff and management working at the restaurant that night. The Lethbridge location in question has an impeccable track record of quality service, has passed every health inspection, and the restaurant is run by one of our highest performing franchisees.

At Burger King, a quality guest experience is our top priority. We have strict processes in place to address any concerns that arise regarding service quality, cleanliness and safety. We would like to once again extend our offer to the customer in question for a full refund, or a gift card so that he can return to the restaurant at his own convenience.”

But Carpenter says he’s concerned about this health, given what he claims to have already ingested.

“I don’t know what was on it. I don’t know if someone blew their nose into a tissue or if someone washed their hands and then dried them, I don’t know exactly what it was. And the thing that frightens me the most is it was in my mouth,” said Carpenter. “I was scared.”

“There are very clear standards in the public health act for food establishments that need to be met to maintain safety for public and staff,” explained Dr. Vivien Suttorp, Medical Officer of Health for the South Zone.

The restaurant has offered Carpenter a full refund of a gift card to return to the restaurant, but the 28-year-old says it’s not about the money.

“I would like to very nicely decline that because I will not be returning to that establishment ever again,” said Carpenter.

You can find health scores of local restaurants here.