Stateside Stories

Lets be honest, when we think of the US, we usually think of fast food. The country has been the birthplace of many famous fast food chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Dominos and Subway. However, these giant companies have seen their fair share of scandals over the years, ranging from the weird to the disgusting. However, despite the scandals that have come their way, these companies are still thriving as people cannot resist the urge to clog their arteries full of fat and grease. This article will look at three scandals that have affected big fast food chains, and the consequences that were faced as a result (spoiler alert: it’s usually not many!)

The Jack in the Box E.Coli Outbreak (1992-1993)

In January 1993, Washington State Department of Health launched an investigation into an outbreak of E.Coli that affected children in Seattle. Soon, Idaho, California and Nevada also reported sudden outbreaks of E.Coli, with government officials struggling to figure out why there were happening. After much detective work, it was deduced that the outbreak was caused by hamburgers being sold at over 70 different Jack in the Box locations in these four states. Over 700 people fell ill as a result from eating the contaminated hamburger meat. Over 170 people required hospital treatment, with many suffering from life-changing complications including brain damage, renal failure and paralysis. Sadly, 4 children died from complications due to the virus. This was the first scandal that Bill Clinton dealt with during his time as president, and his cabinet launched an investigation to find out how so many people got sick from tainted hamburgers. It was revealed that Jack in the Box hamburgers were undercooked. They had received warnings about this in the past, but ignored them as they believed that the required 155 degrees would cause the burgers to become too tough and chewy. Many new rules were implemented following the devastating outbreak. Workers had to throughly check burgers to make sure that they were not visibly pink before taking them off the grill. Workers were also not allowed to touch food with their bare hands, and had to wear gloves at all times. Meat was also throughly tested for deadly bacteria before being sent to restaurants, reducing the chances of people becoming sick from eating dodgy hamburgers.

Disgusting Domino’s People (2009)

In 2009, a video went viral on Youtube of Domino’s employees in North Carolina tainting food. 32-year-old Micheal Setzer and 31-year-old Kristy Hammonds filmed themselves doing truly disgusting things such as putting cheese up their noses and blowing mucus on a sandwich, before announcing that customers would actually be eating them. The video nearly destroyed Domino’s brand overnight. It received over a million views in the space of a few days, and many newspapers such as the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph covered the story. The two employees were fired and faced criminal charges for knowingly tampering food, despite Hammond insisting that the video was a joke and nobody actually ate the contaminated food. Selzer received a 6 month prison sentence and two years of probation. Hammond received a 45-day suspended sentence, 18 months of probation and 200 hours of community service. Sales at the Domino’s where the disgusting acts were filmed experienced a 50% drop in sales. 600 employees lost their jobs as a result of Setzer and Hammond’s actions. Domino’s was eventually able to recover from this scandal, but the two employees became social outcasts who struggled to find employment elsewhere.

McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit (1992)

Anybody who has studied law or politics has probably learned about the McDonald’s hot coffee case. It is often used as an example of how absurd some lawsuits are, and we are expected to sigh and shake our heads in disbelief that anybody could sue a company over being burned by coffee. But, the case is not as simple as it first appears. Stella Liebeck was 79-years-old at the time of the incident and suffered from third-degree burns on 6% of her body when a cup of hot coffee spilled onto her lap. She went into shock from the pain, and had to stay in hospital for over a week as she underwent skin grafting. It took her two years to recover from her injuries. She was willing to settle for $20,000 to pay for medical bills, but McDonald’s was only willing to pay her $800. As a result, the case went to court in 1994, roughly two years after Liebeck received her injuries . Experts revealed that McDonald’s coffee was 40 degrees hotter than was considered safe and that 700 people had been burned by their coffee before. Yet their coffee was still between 180 and 190 degrees. 135 to 150 degrees is the standard. This meant that McDonald’s coffee could cause third-degree burns in three seconds. Usually it should take around 20 seconds, which is enough time to wipe away the coffee. McDonald’s was ruled as being 80% at fault for the incident, and Liebeck at 20%. As a result, she received $160,000 for her injuries.