SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. — A former McDonald’s employee in Southbridge is expected to face criminal charges after a viral video showed her tampering with food, police said.
The video, first obtained by Boston 25 News earlier this month, quickly spread across social media. It appears to show the employee placing french fries in her mouth before returning them to the container for service.
Southbridge police say charges related to the incident are expected to be filed in Dudley District Court.
The video was recorded inside the McDonald’s on East Main Street. The restaurant’s owners have since confirmed that the employees involved are no longer working at the location.
A current employee, Kodie Tull, told Boston 25 News the fallout from the video has been significant. Tull said he recently submitted his two-week notice, calling the incident “the final straw.”
According to Tull, business dropped sharply in the days after the video went viral.
“We had lost a bunch of business. We went from like 400 cars by 3 p.m. to only having about 100,” he said. “We wouldn’t even get over 100 cars in the six hours that I was working.”
Tull said watching the workplace environment deteriorate after the incident added stress.
“Seeing the job that I had worked so hard to kind of maintain a good environment plummet like that — it definitely was a factor,” he said.
Boston 25 News is working to learn exactly what charges will be filed. Updates will be provided on air and online as more information becomes available.
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