McDonald’s touch-screen ordering systems, which have seemingly revolutionised the ordering and eating experience, are full of poo. This was found in an experiment where a whopping 100% of McDonald’s screens tested by microbiologists contained coliforms.
Coliforms are a broad class of bacteria, mostly found in human and animal poo, and that’s not exactly what you expect to get on your hands when you’re ordering a bunch of Chicken Selects at the end a long day/drinking session, is it?
Senior lecturer of microbiology at London Metropolitan University, Dr Paul Matewele, told metro.co.uk, which led the investigation, ‘We were all surprised how much gut and faecal bacteria there was on the touchscreen machines. These cause the kind of infections that people pick up in hospitals.’
‘For instance Enterococcus faecalis is part of the flora of gastrointestinal tracts of healthy humans and other mammals. It is notorious in hospitals for causing hospital acquired infections.’
One screen in one branch was found to have staphylococcus, a bacteria that can cause blood poisoning and toxic shock syndrome: ‘Seeing Staphylococcus on these machines is worrying because it is so contagious,’ Dr Matewele said
‘It starts around people’s noses, if they touch their nose with their fingers and then transfer it to the touchscreen someone else will get it, and if they have an open cut which it gets into, then it can be dangerous.’
Listeria was also found in the Oxford Street and Holloway Roach branches of McDonald’s. This can cause listeriosis which can cause miscarriages and stillbirths.
Proteus, which ‘can cause urinary tract infections and is also one of the hospital acquired infections where it may responsible for septicaemia’ was also found, as well as ‘Klebsiella [which] is also from the gut and mouth, they are associated with urinary tract infections, septicemia and diarrhoea. Some species can infect the respiratory tract resulting in pneumonia.’
The swabs were taken from six McDonald’s outlets in London and two in Birmingham. A McDonald’s spokesperson said: Our self-order screens are cleaned frequently throughout the day. All of our restaurants also provide facilities for customers to wash their hands before eating.’
Yet, the efficiency of the touchscreen experience, where diners pick their meal from a big, friendly touch-screen before listening to their food order being called out before heading to the till to pick up the food, doesn’t really allow for a hand-wash in-between order and pick-up. And if you’ve got all that food in your hands once you’ve picked it up, when are you meant to wash them? Are you meant to leave your food on the table then go and wash your hands? Are you meant to go to McDonald’s with someone else?! At all times? We have many questions, including ‘Why will we continue to eat at McDonald’s using their touch-screens despite knowing the results of this investigation?’
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has implored the NHS to learn from McDonald’s. At a conference, he said, reports The Times: ’At the moment we do not have enough leaders. There’s a lot that the NHS can teach others but that doesn’t mean that we should be complacent.
‘Look at what McDonald’s does. They start leadership at shift manager level. They drive leadership training through every level of their company.’
We’re just glad he said ‘shift’ manager there...