A Muslim man has hit out at McDonald’s after he was given a sausage McMuffin instead of his meat-free order.
Fida Hussain from Small Heath, Birmingham, claims tasting the pork roll has left him ‘devastated’ after avoiding the meat his whole life in line with his faith.
The 49-year-old is now demanding an apology and compensation from the fast-food giant after he was forced to spit out the meat.
Mr Hussain goes to the drive-thru at McDonald’s in Small Heath for a breakfast deal every morning, comprising of an egg and cheese McMuffin, hash brown and a coffee.
He says on December 17, he made his usual journey to the Coventry Road restaurant and took the food home.
He said: ‘I trusted them. I was watching Judge Judy and bit into the McMuffin and knew instantly when I tasted it that it was meat.
‘The taste was horrible, I knew straightaway and spat it out.
‘It’s just completely wrong. It’s a sensitive subject, it could happen to anyone, vegan or if a person is on a particular diet.’
The former self-employed courier claims he returned immediately to the restaurant and spoke to both a female and male manager who advised him to complain online via details on the reverse of his receipt.
‘The woman tried to tell me ‘can we keep it quiet and deal with it in store’ but obviously I was not happy at all.’
The father-of-four added: ‘I am a practising Muslim with a nice, long beard and proud of it so they knew.
‘I’ve kept myself away from it [pork] all my life. McDonald’s is a big name, it’s a huge retailer. They shouldn’t make mistakes like this.’
He said he was given a replacement egg and cheese McMuffin and contacted the company’s head office which, he alleges, has since emailed him to say the matter is resolved as he accepted a replacement meal.
McDonald’s refute this and said it is still working to resolve the complaint.
Although the chain has offered Mr Hussain meal vouchers, he is not happy with the outcome.
He said: ‘I would like an apology and financial compensation. I’m devastated. It’s put me off McDonald’s and I’m mortified.
‘It’s diabolical for a professional retailer that’s worldwide.’
A spokeswoman for McDonald’s said: ‘We have a number of measures in place to avoid inaccurate orders and would like to apologise to the customer that we did not meet these standards on this occasion.
‘We recognise it is unacceptable to serve meat when a vegetarian product has been ordered. As soon as it was brought to the attention of the restaurant, the customer was apologised to and offered a replacement order.
‘We understand the customer is currently in contact with our Customer Services Team to help find a resolution.’
*story by Daily Mail