Girl finds plastic screw in burger at Perrysburg McDonald’s, family claims

PERRYSBURG, Ohio — A Perrysburg teen claims her McDonald’s dinner turned alarming last week after finding a plastic screw in her burger.

Ava Carter, 17, purchased a $5 McDouble meal deal on Nov. 26 at the McDonald’s on Dixie Highway.

“In the middle of my bite, there was something hard and weird,” Ava said. “So, I pulled it out, and it was this black thing. I showed a light on it and it was a screw.”

Ava and her mother, Whitney Carter, kept the burger as evidence.

Whitney instructed Ava to return to the restaurant to inform the staff of the screw but claims McDonald’s staff did little to address the situation.

“They didn’t offer an apology or even a refund for the burger. Absolutely nothing,” Whitney said. “I was angry.”

The Dixie Highway McDonald’s sent the following statement to WTOL 11:

“We are committed to serving our customers safe, high-quality food. We have investigated this matter thoroughly and are not able to substantiate this claim.”

McDonald’s USA also provided the following information:

• Upon a thorough internal investigation at the restaurant, including reviewing camera footage in the kitchen area, there are no known causes that may have led to a screw being placed within the product before being presented to the customer.
• Our suppliers prioritize food safety and quality by implementing safeguards at multiple points in their process to prevent foreign material contamination, including metal detection, x-ray, and vision systems, which make it highly unlikely for an item of this size to pass through to the final product.

The Carters filed a complaint with the Wood County Health Department, too.

An inspection report from Nov. 27 said there was no missing plastic screws or equipment at the restaurant that used such screws.

Ava’s mother said she and her daughter aren’t sure how the screw got in the burger, but that they didn’t put it there themselves.

“There are people out there who would do this, but that’s not who we are,” she said. “I just want to inform people to be careful with what they eat because this could’ve ended differently.”

The family said they are now working with McDonald’s insurance company to determine the next steps.