A mum claims she felt 'disgusted and violated' after discovering the 'crunchy' bit of her McDonald's chicken wrap was a snail she was chomping on. Shelby Forrester said she bit into and 'squished' the snail that was lurking in the bottom of her chicken wrap of the day.
The 25-year-old and partner Jake Adams, 29, ordered a McDonald's through the app from the Drayton Market branch in Shropshire as a treat after putting their two children to bed. The pair picked up two chicken wrap meals and two cheeseburgers totalling £15 before tucking into them at home. After Jake had already scoffed his whole meal and Shelby was three bites away from finishing her wrap, she says she felt a 'crunch' and spat the mouthful out to investigate.
The carer says she was 'mortified' and froze before asking Jake to confirm that she'd just spat out a snail.
Shelby says she binned the two cheeseburgers and took the wrap back to the store where staff offered her a refund and a free meal.
However she claims the experience has put her off ever eating McDonald's again and believes she should be compensated for 'having a snail in her mouth'.
Shelby, from Hodnet, Shropshire, said: "We thought we'd have a nice night and get a McDonald's so I didn't have to cook.
"I ordered the chicken wrap of the day meal. I've had it before, I was just getting into liking them but I won't be eating at McDonald's again.
"I got literally two or three bites from the bottom and felt a crunch in my mouth. I was expecting it to be a piece of chicken.
"I spat it out and I was in silence for about ten minutes. My partner asked what was wrong with me so I asked him to have a look at the wrap and clarify what it was because I was absolutely mortified at it.
"He said 'that's a snail' and I said 'I know'. I didn't know what to do, I didn't know whether to run to the sink and throw up or be angry.
"It was in my mouth, I crunched it, it was squished. I instantly spat it out and out came the snail. It makes me feel disgusted and violated.
"I was paranoid it had given me some kind of disease because snails do carry all kinds of diseases.
"We'd ordered two cheeseburgers as well but safe to say we didn't eat those, they went in the bin."
Shelby claims she took the snail back to the branch where staff were left scratching their heads at how the snail could have ended up in the wrap.
She says they promised to pass on the complaint to head office as well as offering a refund and a free meal which Shelby rejected.
Shelby said: "I rang McDonald's up, they told me to bring it back so I did. I made sure they knew I wasn't happy.
"They asked me if I wanted another one or if I wanted my money back. I said I didn't want another, I won't be eating at McDonald's again and I said I wanted my money back and for it to be taken further.
"I would like some kind of compensation for having a snail in my mouth.
"At the time I didn't know what to say or do. It doesn't make me feel happy and I don't think I'll be able to eat salads out in a restaurant again.
"They were asking me how it had got in there and I told them I had no idea, I was eating it and I spat the snail out. It was definitely in there.
"It was like they thought I'd gone into my garden, picked up a snail and put it in my wrap for a free meal.
"They were very gobsmacked and didn't know what to do or say. Someone has had to assemble my wrap and haven't noticed it.
"Someone from head office called the next day, they were very apologetic and said it would be tested at a lab."
Shelby used to visit McDonald's twice a month but has vowed never to eat there again.
Shelby said: "I was a fan of McDonalds, they aren't gourmet meals but they're quick and easy and quite nice burgers. That's it for me with McDonald's."
She says she feels lucky that the snail was in her wrap rather than Jake's as its likely he would have assumed it was a crunchy piece of chicken and carried on eating.
Shelby said: "He's the kind of person who would have carried on eating if he'd felt a crunch so it's a good job I had that one because he would have swallowed it."
A McDonald’s spokesperson told The Mirror: "Food quality is of the utmost importance to us and we place great emphasis on quality control, following rigorous standards to avoid any imperfections.
"When the customer brought this matter to the attention of our restaurant team we immediately apologised and offered a full refund.
"Our Customer Services team has also been in contact with the customer to offer our apologies and help find a resolution."
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