McDonald's apologizes over human tooth and plastic pieces found in food

(NaturalNews) There are many situations in which a fast food restaurant should offer an apology to its customers. A mix-up at the drive-through window or an incorrectly calculated bill are a couple of examples. But what about the appearance of a human tooth in an order of fries? If not a tooth, what about enjoying a sundae only to have your lip cut open from plastic hidden inside the dessert?

Both incidents are precisely what happened to customers at McDonald's restaurants in Japan, findings which the corporation has since admitted to and apologized for during a recent news conference.

Still, the chain's higher-ups stand by the food quality. The senior vice president at McDonald's Holding Co (Japan) Ltd., Takehiko Aoki, said, "I am confident that my family can eat McDonald's products."⁽¹⁾

Amid bizarre food findings, higher-ups offer empty reassurance to public

After such a statement, one has to wonder if his family is perhaps drawn to unusual food pairings, or if they engage in some kind of strange bet about who can find the most bizarre item smack-dab in their McNugget.

In actuality, his statement is generic, saying nothing of food safety. It doesn't explain why he's confident; rather, it merely states an obvious fact that, yes, his family is capable of eating food. Anyone can say they feel confident that their friends and family can eat at a fast food chain, or anywhere for that matter. After all, if they are hungry and have a mouth and the ability to digest food, of course they "can eat" anywhere. When one gets right to it, Aoki is simply stating a very obvious fact. While his words imply that he's not worried about finding a bicuspid in a bun, the statement is actually not saying anything at all about food quality.

But wait, there's more...

Yet another customer knows all too well about McDonald's food fiascos and is likely not reassured by Aoki's quasi-confidence. This particular diner recently discovered a strip of vinyl in a Chicken McNugget at a McDonald's in Japan. The finding led to a stop in nugget production at a plant in Thailand, the cause of which (at the time of this writing) is still under investigation.⁽¹⁾

For those curious as to why Thailand was involved, it was -- ironically -- a decision made by McDonald's Japan to improve product quality after the fast food chain's Chinese supplier was thought to be selling expired meat. They recently chose to source nuggets from three Thai plants, a move that has proved to yield disturbing findings in the less than six months that McDonald's Japan has been working with the Thailand plants.⁽¹⁾

Employees and employers warn of iffy food practices and nutritional value at McDonald's

Even the fast food chain's own employees are hesitant about the foods it serves.

According to AskReddit.com, when workers were asked to provide the inside scoop from their perspective, the results were eye-opening. "Fast food workers of Reddit," the question began, "what is the one menu option at your employment that you would recommend people never eat? (Because of cooking safety, cleanliness, unhealthy, etc)." A person under the username "Dfunkatron" explained his observations while working at McDonald's. "When I worked at McDonald's," he wrote, "I accidentally left a whole bag of about 100 chicken nuggets out on a counter for way too long. They melted. Into a pool of liquid. I never understood why. But they were completely indiscernible as being the nuggets i once knew."⁽²⁾

Furthermore, the company's McResource website warns its own employees against consumption of high-fat, high-calorie foods, the very kinds of foods which McDonald's is best known for selling. "Fast foods are quick, reasonably priced, and readily available alternatives to home cooking," their McResourceLine.com website previously stated. "While convenien[t] and inexpensive for a busy lifestyle, fast foods are typically high in calories, fat[,] saturated fat, sugar and salt." Although McDonald's spokeswoman Lisa McComb issued a statement saying, "Portions of this website continue to be taken entirely out of context," the McResources site was ultimately closed down due to mounting controversies regarding the comments it provided about fast food and health.^(3,4)

Hopefully more people will realize the health dangers of eating food such as those served at chains like McDonald's. Fresh, whole foods are always healthier options than processed ones. Additionally, in light of recent events, resisting the lure of those golden arches also means staying safe from discovering random items such as teeth, vinyl and plastic in foods.

Sources:

(1) http://newsdaily.com

(2) http://www.reddit.com

(3) http://abcnews.go.com

(4) http://abcnews.go.com