Bad feeling over maggot in McDonald's burger box

An Auckland grandmother and health carer is vowing never to eat at McDonald's again after finding a maggot in a burger box she bought.

Linda MacDonald, 59, said she was disgusted when the found the maggot as she ate an Angus Burger Combo from the Pt Chevalier McDonald's.

She and a colleague were sharing the burger when they saw something "wiggling" in the box, the New Zealand Herald reported today.

Mrs MacDonald spat out what she was eating and ran to the toilet to throw up.

She rejected the McDonalds vouchers she was offered and told them she would never eat at McDonald's again.

McDonald's NZ boss Mark Hawthorne said he did not believe the maggot came from within the restaurant. It was dead when the company conducted tests. However, Mrs MacDonald said the maggot was alive when she found it and was not tested for six days.

She said she wanted nothing from McDonald's except an apology and was upset at the company's reaction.

After rejecting vouchers she was sent $100 of Westfield shopping mall vouchers which she gave to her son.

Mr Hawthorne said the company had conducted a thorough investigation, which included the restaurant, suppliers of ingredients and independent laboratory testing.

He said the maggot was not associated with the beef patty. He said it was hard to determine the point of contamination they believed it was "unlikely to have resulted from McDonald's".

- NZPA