McDonald’s worker charged after allegedly contaminating french fries

A former McDonald’s employee in Massachusetts has been charged with selling or distributing food with a foreign substance after allegedly grabbing a handful of french fries, putting them in her mouth and then serving them to a drive-thru customer, according to police.

Police began investigating the incident after footage allegedly showed the employee putting the fries in her mouth and spitting in the fry carton before serving them to a customer.

In statement to Global News, the Southbridge Police Department said it had concluded its investigation into the incident, involving alleged food contamination at the McDonald’s restaurant in Southbridge.

“As a result of the investigation, a 22-year-old female employee from Southbridge, MA, will be charged with one felony count of selling or distributing food with a foreign substance,” police said, adding that the individual’s name will not be released at this time pending arraignment proceedings.

“The Southbridge Police Department would also like to acknowledge the exceptional cooperation provided by the ownership and management of the Southbridge McDonald’s throughout the course of this investigation. Their assistance and professionalism were instrumental in bringing this matter to a conclusion,” police added in a statement.

The employee’s arraignment proceedings in Dudley District Court are currently scheduled for June 5.

Global News has reached out to McDonald’s for further comment, but has not received a response.

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The Southbridge Police Department released a statement earlier this month, saying that it was aware of the video circulating online ” involving an employee at a local fast food restaurant allegedly contaminating food before it was served.”

“Since the video was posted, our department has received numerous calls, online tips, and media inquiries regarding the incident. At this time, the matter is being addressed in coordination with the Board of Health and restaurant management,” police said.

The department was working to determine whether the food was “ultimately served to a customer and to identify any individual who may have been affected.”

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The video was originally posted on a Snapchat account on April 9, according to court documents obtained by Telegram & Gazette, NBC Boston and People.

The video allegedly showed the employee inside the McDonald’s kitchen area saying, “When your girlfriend wants french fries today right… she wants french fries today right,” before grabbing fries and placing them in her mouth and then putting them back into a fry carton, according to reports.

Detective Sgt. Evan Genkos reviewed the surveillance footage from inside the restaurant with McDonald’s ownership and management, going through more than 220 hours to locate the incident on surveillance video, People reports.

Police reportedly said that the woman first appeared to spit into the empty fry carton before recording the selfie video while placing fries into her mouth and back into the same carton.

Surveillance footage from the drive-thru allegedly showed a Ford Fusion at the window around the time of the incident. Investigators later traced the vehicle’s registration to a woman, who confirmed she was the customer who received the fries, per People’s report.

Police said the customer had previously been in a relationship with the employee and was allegedly targeted by her, NBC Boston reports.

After the owners of the McDonald’s franchise store watched the video, they reportedly told police they wanted to pursue criminal charges.

The owners of the Southbridge McDonald’s issued a statement to NBC Boston when the video first surfaced, saying, “The actions of these individuals are unacceptable and do not reflect our organization’s food safety standards or values.”

“We, as an organization, are conducting an internal review and are proactively working with local authorities and the local health department, who yesterday, found no public health concerns or violations. The wellbeing and safety of our Southbridge community remains our top priority, and we are taking swift appropriate actions,” the statement added.

The Sellia Group, which owns the McDonald’s in Southbridge, also said that the employee was suspended but after conducting an internal investigation, “they are no longer employed by our organization.”

0:35 Chick-fil-A employee accused of stealing more than $80K in mac and cheese refund scam

This is the second time this month that a former fast food employee has been charged in a work-related incident.

Earlier this month, a former Chick-fil-A employee in Texas was accused of stealing more than US$80,000 from the fast food company in a mac and cheese scheme, according to Texas police.

The Grapevine Police Department alleges that an employee, who had been fired a month before the alleged fraud, returned to the location and went behind the counter to ring up 800 orders of the catering-sized mac and cheese before refunding them to his personal credit card.

“Surveillance footage shows a former employee, who was let go a month prior, unattended behind the counter,” police said.

“He can be seen using the register where he rang up 800 orders of mac and cheese trays, then refunded them to his personal credit cards, resulting in a total of just over $80k.”

Police said that the suspect evaded arrest after multiple attempts and was finally arrested on April 17, 2026. The former employee was charged with property theft, money laundering and evading arrest.