An Ohio woman reported McDonald's to authorities over a claim she found pennies lodged inside her chicken nuggets.
Beth Rupert-Warren reported the Wintersville branch of the fast-food chain to police earlier this week, after purchasing the nuggets and discovering coins inside them, according to The Columbus Dispatch. The food had been purchased for a family game night.
Police then reported the incident to the Jefferson County Health Department, which investigated the matter. Jefferson County Health Commissioner Andrew Henry said Wintersville McDonald's had removed the "contaminated" products.
He confirmed in an emailed statement to Newsweek: "The health department has been in contact with McDonald's regional management. Based on our conversation, we can confirm that they have removed the contaminated chicken nuggets by lot number from stock. Additional precautionary measures were followed. They have been in contact with their manufacturer about the product."
Wintersville Police Captain Jason Fabian told WTRF that Rupert-Warren reported the incident to police out of "great concern" for children who could "get their hands on the food," adding that it could have been a choke hazard.
Rupert-Warren also allegedly shared her concerns on Facebook, warning people to carefully check their food before consuming it. Writing in a now-deleted post, Rupert-Warren said the issue appeared to have come from the manufacturing side and was "no way an attack on the employees of Wintersville McDonald's."
Newsweek has contacted McDonald's for comment.
It isn't the first time that McDonald's has come under fire for its chicken nuggets. The popular fast-food chain ended up in a Florida court earlier this year after two parents claimed their daughter had suffered second-degree burns from a "dangerously hot" nugget in an incident in 2019.
Philana Holmes and Humberto Caraballo Estevez sought $15 million in compensatory damages after their child's thigh was burned when a hot chicken nugget got stuck between her leg and her seatbelt following a trip to a McDonald's drive-thru in Tamarac, near Fort Lauderdale. She was four years old at the time.
McDonald's and its franchise operator, Upchurch Foods, were found partially liable by a jury in May for failing to give an adequate warning about how hot the food might be. The parents were awarded $800,000 in damages by a jury last month.
A McDonald's spokesperson said in May: "This was an unfortunate incident, but we respectfully disagree with the verdict. Our customers should continue to rely on McDonald's to follow policies and procedures for serving Chicken McNuggets safely."
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