Woman Finds Needle In McDonald's Burger

A mother is putting the word out to check your fast food after she says her step-mother found a needle in her hamburger.  The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department is looking into the reported incident at the Hamburg McDonald's.  

Erin Spellman says her little boy and his grandparents were eating at the McDonald's when her step-mother bit into something hard. Spellman says at first her step-mother thought she was chewing a cap, but then realized it was a needle. She added that her step-mother pricked her finger on it as well, then spent several hours at a local emergency room being tested and treated. 

The health department released this statement to us that reads in part:

"We received a report yesterday afternoon of some sort of hypodermic needle being discovered in a hamburger by a customer at the McDonald's in Hamburg. A health inspector visited the restaurant, surveyed the ingredients used to make the burger and found no evidence of contamination. He also spoke with the restaurant's managers, who reported that they and their staff had no idea how the needle could have been found in the burger. The restaurant remains open. Our inspector recorded the manufacturer lot numbers of all the food products used for the burger, and we will forward that information to the Kentucky Department for Public Health this morning for potential additional investigation."

"I'm not a paranoid person by any means but I think this is a big public health issue," Spellman said. "My little boy is only five and that's alarming that that could have been in his hamburger." McDonald's also released a statement about the incident: “We take this allegation very seriously, as food safety is a top priority," said Denise Long, McDonald’sOwner/Operator. "We are working to verify the facts and welcome the partnership with the Health Department in this matter.”