Bug on McDonald's hash brown, customer in Korea claims

A dead mosquito in a McDonald's hash brown [YONHAP]

A customer claims to have founds a dead mosquito on a McDonald’s hash brown.

On Monday, a customer in Busan found a dead mosquito stuck on a McDonald’s hash brown, which came with a Sausage McMuffin meal he ordered, according to Yonhap reports.

McDonald’s Korea apologized to the customer regarding the incident.

The fast food chain said it is unlikely that the mosquito was stuck in the hash brown when it was first sent over to the branch. It claims it is likely that the bug got stuck after it was fried, considering hash browns are fried in 186 degrees Celsius (366.8 Fahrenheit) oil for 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

McDonald’s Korea is currently working with a pest control company to look into how the bug ended up on the hash brown and said it will strengthen its food sanitation inspection standards.

This is not the first claim on contaminated food items at McDonald's in Korea.

A customer who ordered a McDonald’s burger at a branch in Goyang, Gyeonggi, in July, found a 2-centimeter (0.8-inch) long wire. The company apologized, saying the wire was from a scoop used at the branch.

On Nov. 6, an earwig was found inside a hamburger sold at the chain’s branch in Incheon. McDonald’s Korea said it the bug came with the lettuce, and said it will change the farm it uses for sourcing.

A 2-centimeter piece of thin wood was found in a hamburger bun, sold at a branch in Chungju, North Chungcheong,on Nov. 26. The company again apologized, and promised stricter food inspection procedures.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]