SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. — A former McDonald’s manager in Southbridge is facing a criminal charge after investigators say she deliberately contaminated a customer’s food in an incident that was captured on video and later went viral.
According to court documents obtained Monday by Boston 25 News, 22-year-old Kaylie Santos, of Southbridge, has been charged with distributing food with a harmful substance. The charge stems from an April 9, 2026, incident at the McDonald’s on East Main Street.
Police say the investigation began when officers were made aware of a video circulating on social media that appeared to show a McDonald’s employee tampering with food before serving it to a customer.
Investigators say the video, recorded on a Snapchat account, shows Santos taking handfuls of French fries, placing them in her mouth, and then putting them back into a carton.
According to police, additional surveillance footage from inside the restaurant confirmed what happened next. Authorities say Santos was seen spitting into a fry container, adding fries that had been in her mouth, and then placing the contaminated food into a bag that was handed to a drive-thru customer.
“It is quite evident that Santos not only spit in the french fries container before adding fries into it, Santos also placed several french fries in her mouth and then placed those fries in the same container,” police allege in the documents. “Santos then proceeded to serve the contaminated french fry carton with her spit and the french fries that had been in her mouth to a customer.”
The customer drove away after receiving the order.
Police identified the customer as a Southbridge woman who later told investigators she had eaten the fries before seeing the video online.
According to the report, the customer said she was unaware the food had been tampered with at the time.
Investigators also determined the incident may have been targeted. Court documents indicate that Santos and the customer had been in a relationship for about two years, and Santos was allegedly upset about their October 2024 breakup.
“She and Santos had dated for approximately two years,” police wrote in the report. “Santos was mad because she is now dating someone else and has been harassing her and her new partner.”
In the video, Santos can be heard stating, “When your girlfriend wants french fries today, right...She wants french fries today, right.” At the end of the video, another voice is heard saying, “Dirty (expletive).”
The customer told police she wanted to pursue criminal charges.
Santos is charged with distributing food containing a harmful substance, which carries a potential penalty of up to five years in state prison.
Court records show her arraignment is scheduled for June 5 in Dudley District Court.
Police launched an investigation after the video was reported to the Southbridge Board of Health and the restaurant’s ownership. The McDonald’s franchise owners reviewed hundreds of hours of footage to locate the incident and confirmed Santos’ identity.
The restaurant has since taken action, and the employees involved are no longer working there.
At this point, it doesn’t appear that any other customers were affected, police noted in the report.
The case has drawn widespread attention online and raised concerns about food safety and employee conduct in the fast-food industry.
Boston 25 News will continue to follow developments in the case and provide updates as they become available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
