McDonald’s Responds After Being Accused of Selling ‘Raw’ Burgers

McDonald’s has issued a response on social media, after a customer accused the fast-foot giant of selling them “raw” burgers.

Podcaster Susan Gonzalez aired the grievance on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday, sharing two photos that showed meat patties torn open with pink centers. The burgers were shown to be inside McDonald’s boxes.

“When you go to @mcdonalds and order two double quarter pounders and they both come raw,” read an accompanying caption that included the hashtags “#rawhamburger” and “#disgusting.”

Gonzalez, who is host of the Untold Cold Cases podcast, did not specify when or from where the burgers were purchased. Newsweek has contacted Gonzalez and McDonald’s representatives via email for comment.

The verified McDonald’s account responded to the post less than 40 minutes later, as they sought to rectify the issue.

A message to Gonzalez read that the “order should be cooked to perfection, Susan.” The message advised her to “drop your contact info, restaurant location and email address via DM and we’ll sort it out for you.”

When it comes to eating raw meat, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises: “Some foods are more associated with foodborne illnesses and food poisoning than others. They can carry harmful germs that can make you very sick if the food is contaminated.

“Raw foods of animal origin are the most likely to be contaminated, specifically raw or undercooked meat and poultry, raw or lightly cooked eggs, unpasteurized (raw) milk, and raw shellfish.”

The CDC says that most raw poultry contains the bacteria campylobacter and may also contain salmonella, clostridium perfringens, and other bacteria, while raw meat may contain salmonella, E. coli, yersinia, and other bacteria.

McDonald’s is one of several multinational corporations to be feeling the effects of international boycotts as Israel’s conflict with Hamas continues. After Israel was hit with a surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, both sides have been locked in a war.

Public support has been divided, with some supporting Israel, while others back the Palestinian people. Many have also long called for a ceasefire. McDonald’s and coffee chain Starbucks were two of the hardest hit by boycotts.

In the fast-food chain’s case, the boycott campaign began after Israeli franchises started offering free meals to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers, promoted in a social-media blitz in October. Last month, CEO Chris Kempczinski said that McDonald’s took a financial hit amid the boycotts, especially in its Middle Eastern markets.

In a recent post on LinkedIn, Kempczinski said: “Several markets in the Middle East and outside the region are experiencing a meaningful business impact due to the war and associated misinformation that is affecting brands like McDonald’s.”

“This is disheartening and ill-founded. In every country where we operate, including in Muslim countries, McDonald’s is proudly represented by local owner operators who work tirelessly to serve and support their communities while employing thousands of their fellow citizens,” Kempczinski added. “That local community connection is the genius of the McDonald’s system.”

Most McDonald’s restaurants are run by franchisees globally. But Middle East locations are “part of the company’s international developmental licensed markets division, which generates about 10 percent of the company’s revenue,” per Bloomberg.

Kempczinski previously spoke about the Israel-Hamas war in October when he said he was “deeply disturbed by the acts of antisemitism and Islamophobia” in a message that was widely reported in the media.