After it was announced that the American people voted Taco Bell as the best Mexican restaurant of 2018, the fast food chain was sitting on cloud nine.
However, everyone knows that opinions can change in an instant if a person or an organization is the target of negative publicity.
Taco Bell is now facing the brunt of this unwanted attention after a sheriff's deputy claims he ate two burritos that tasted like bleach.
The Claim
The police officer from Lee County, Florida - only identified as Deputy Brown - said on September 23 he ordered four burritos from the Taco Bell drive-thru in Lehigh Acres.
He alleges that when he consumed the first two, he noticed they had a foul taste, and when he checked the wrappers and the paper bag, it had the distinct smell of bleach.
Brown said his tongue began to feel "numb and tingly" and immediately informed the police.
"We take food safety very seriously and are deeply appreciative of the men and women who serve and protect our communities and our country.
"The franchisee that owns and operates this Lehigh Acres restaurant is investigating this matter."
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time law enforcement have found an unwelcome surprise in their fast food order.
"In disgust, I threw it out of the window."
Back in July, Fox 4 reported that a Fort Myers police officer Tim McCormick claimed he was at Burger King when he was served a burger with dirt on it.
"At first I thought it was just burned old bacon, I was hungry and ate the burger, at the last bite I saw dirt and grit on the burger," the officer wrote on Facebook.
"In disgust, I threw it out of the window. I quickly noticed that my receipt had big block letters with the word POLICE on it."
With thousands of likes and shares, social media users called for a boycott of the popular fast food franchise, which quickly led to an investigation.
Dan Fitzpatrick, CEO and chairman of Quality Dining Inc., the franchisee who operates the Burger King restaurant, said it wasn't dirt on McCormick's burger but rather the burger's seasoning.
"We are aware of the allegations made by one of our officers against the restaurant. Burger King is taking this allegation very seriously and has met with representatives of the Fort Myers Police Department. Burger King has extended an invitation to the officer in an effort to resolve the issue."
Fitzpatrick said he invited the officer to view the video of his food being prepared, to show him no misconduct occurred.
"We hope the officer will post something, in whatever manner he chooses," Fitzpatrick told WUSA 9.
"I basically lost my mind. I screamed."
In August of last year, a woman from Bucks County, Pennsylvania sued Chick-fil-A for $50,000 after she found a dead rat in her sandwich.
Ellen Manfalouti said that she found the deceased rodent baked into the bottom bun of her chicken sandwich after a coworker at Nationwide Insurance picked it up for her.
She told Philly.com that when she and her peer were eating their meal, she "felt something funny on the bottom of the bun."
"I turned it over. I said to [my co-worker], 'They burned my roll really bad.'"
After Manfalouti discovered that she had almost taken a bite of a dead rat, she said she "basically lost my mind. I screamed."
Manfalouti said she immediately went to the hospital for nausea, and could barely eat in the weeks afterward.
"I had anxiety and nightmares, which I still do," she said. "The first month was really rough."
According to Manfalouti's lawyer, Bill Davis, laboratory testing has confirmed that the bun contained a small rat or mouse.
[H/T: Fox 4, WUSA 9, Daily Mail, Philly.com]
Have you ever been served a contaminated burger? Let us know in the comments!
