'Worms' allegedly found inside McDonald's burger packaging: Unlikely that larvae or eggs survived cooking process

McDonald's Singapore has responded to a Facebook post alleging that worms were found in a Fillet-O-Fish burger box, following thorough investigations.

In an earlier report, Stomper Jimmy and several other netizens had alerted Stomp to the Facebook post by Angela Qiqi dated Jul 23.

Her posting was accompanied by photos of meal receipts and finished food, as well as a video showing tiny worms wriggling on tissue paper.

"What the hell is this ... I just finished the whole fish fillet burger then realised these worms inside the packaging... Which are still moving!!!!" Angela had written.

McDonald's Singapore later responded that they had contacted the customer and was looking into the matter.

Investigations have since been carried out.

Patricia Yong, Director, Operations, McDonald's Singapore said in a statement today (Jul 26):

"At McDonald’s, food safety and quality are our top priorities and we take all feedback relating to the quality of our food very seriously. We have investigated this thoroughly and have also been in contact with the customer.

"We have also engaged two independent pest control agencies to inspect our restaurant and they have found no evidence of pests on the premises.

"This inspection is on top of our regular monthly external pest control maintenance and checks. Similarly, our packaging suppliers have also conducted their own investigations and have confirmed that the possibility of pests being introduced to the restaurant through the packaging is extremely unlikely as the process of manufacturing and storage involves flat packing and temperatures between 48 – 350 °C.

"Given the high temperatures at which our food is prepared, it is highly unlikely that larvae or eggs would have survived the cooking process. With the information at hand, we do not have conclusive evidence to confirm the origin of the pests. 

"At McDonald’s, the well-being and satisfaction of our customers is very important to us, and we recognise high hygiene standards as an integral part of our business. We institute regular cleaning and checks as part of our restaurant food safety processes and take every precaution with our suppliers to ensure that our high standards for food quality are upheld.”