'Panic mode:' Milwaukee man claims he found 'nightmare' surprise inside McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwich
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A typical Filet-O-Fish sandwich at McDonald's comes with just four ingredients -- the bun, fish patty, cheese, and tartar sauce.
But a Milwaukee man is claiming his order had an extra add-on -- and one that he describes as "a nightmare."
Martinez Milton said he went through the drive-thru at the franchise location on 60th and Silver Spring on the city's north side Friday afternoon.
"I purchased a fish sandwich," Milton told CBS 58.
But when he started eating, he quickly noticed something was off.
"Felt like something was attached to my tongue," Milton recalled. "I went completely into panic mode."
Milton said he began gagging and rushed to the bathroom where he tried to use his finger to get it out of his mouth.
That's when Milton said he saw a mark on the inside of his cheek.
"Explain to me, what is this?" Milton said.
He decided to go to urgent care, where officials treated him for an insect bite, with further instructions to take medicine for pain and use mouthwash as needed.
"This is the first time I've been through anything like this. Don't want to go through nothing like this in my entire life again," Milton said, noting he didn't eat for three days following the incident. "I'm not going back to McDonald's ever again."
CBS 58 reached out to the owner of the franchise, who confirmed he was aware of the incident and that Milton had received a full refund for the sandwich, but said he had "no comment."
An official from McDonald's Corporation told CBS 58 they would not be commenting on the situation as the location is locally owned, but said the restaurant's management team inspected the kitchen, food preparation areas, and Filet-O-Fish patty supply and found no food safety issues or signs of parasites.
Officials also said McDonald's "maintains rigorous quality control measures for the Filet-O-Fish patty, with multiple checkpoints throughout the production process to ensure food safety, including:"
Freezing the fish in accordance with FDA guidelines for seafood products, which eliminates risk from parasites.
Manually inspecting each filet on a candling table to detect and remove any foreign objects or irregularities.
Conducting additional inspections at supplier facilities, where shipments may be rejected if any contaminants, including parasites, are found.
The Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) confirmed they had received a complaint about the McDonald's location on March 10, and an inspector visited the facility the following day.
"During the inspection, no object matching the complaint description was found on-site. However, the inspector did note some mouse droppings in the dry storage area and basement, though there were no signs of food being tampered with. The facility has a pest control service, with a recent visit documented on February 25," a MHD statement said. "As a result of the findings, MHD has issued an Intent to Cease order for the facility, meaning we will conduct a follow-up inspection within the next week to ensure compliance."