my son got food poisoning from mcdonalds, what department of health and safety do i contact?

Answer 1

First go to your GP so it is logged. Then contact Head Office of McDonalds and write in a formal complaint. If you are not satisfied with their investigation contact food standards, envromental health and they will carry out their own independant investigation. Which McDonalds was it?

Answer 2

I also doubt it was McDs. They have a very strict food safety policy in place. But..
You should contact McDonalds right away...the manager at the restaurant..they will then have you on record if others call also with an illness. If the manager doesnt handle your situation properly..you can contact McDonalds corporate..the phone number is on all the cups and bags..or on their website.
You can then contact your local health department and I believe they should check the restaurant....but all the other comments on the health dept do apply.

Answer 3

You'll have a lot of trouble proving he got his food poisoning from McDonald's. First of all a sample of his poo will need to be tested to find the actual bug causing his illness, and your local Council Inspectors will need to visit the establishment to do tests and take samples. The offending items will probably be long gone now, but you could try finding out if anyone else suffered the same fate on the same day - try local newspapers they might help - it's good negative stuff for them.

I nearly lost my 2 children [4 & 2] in the late 60s through food poisoning from frozen chickens. They were infected through eating fresh cheese cut by the grocer's wife who had herself had food poisoning from frozen chickens, but who had not washed her hands after going to the toilet and before cutting the cheese.

My son carried the infection for over 6 months afterwards and our house resembled an isolation hospital! They were so ill, the doctors thought they had Para Typhoid and they spent 6 weeks in Fazakerley Isolation Hospital in Liverpool.

- now that infection isn't just still in chickens but has moved into eggs as well - not much to be said for the people in charge of food safety after 37 years!

Answer 4

I doubt if it was McDonalds. Their products are not of the type nor handled in a manner to cause food borne illness. Sources generally end up being a place that prepares their food from the raw state. The most common source of food born illnesses is the home which is generally accepted to be the flu or some other bug.
The last thing one eats and throws up is seldom the source of the illness. So called "food poisoning" generally takes several hours to cause signs of illness.
If you report it to your local health department, be prepared to provide at least a 48 hour history of everything your son ate. That's right, I said forty-eight hours.

Answer 5

Did you son wash his hands properly with soap and warm water for at least 12-15 seconds before eating? Was he sick already? Those are questions that will be asked if you want to file a formal complaint. A lot of people get sick from eating out or even at home. It's a natural response for the body to get sick. Is it worth your time to file useless complaints? Just don't go there anymore but remember that if you continue to eat out at a different location, it might happen there also and any other restaurant.

Answer 6

You have my sympathy, and I definately dont like mcdonalds myself....however,
You will have a tough time proving that the food poisoning came from mcdonalds, unless a lot of other people got sick at the same place.
On the plus side, they do take food hygiene very seriously at McDonalds and will throw away perfectly good food, that doesnt meet their strict criteria
on the minus side, they employ students and 'yoof' who barely know their base from their apex.

Answer 7

Your local council's environmental health section (see their website) - also write to Macdonalds' head office - customer services, and complain. Depending on the seriousness of the sickness you could have grounds for a personal injury claim.

Answer 8

It may be hard to prove but if you went to the doctor he would report it to the local health & enviromental inspectors. They would see if there had been any other complaints. A one off would be difficult to prove. Best to report it though as it could next the next person.

Answer 9

You could contact your local health department but it may be hard to prove that he got it there.

Answer 10

I would speak to Macdonalds directly to begin with. and do you have any proof like doctors appointments and tests etc saying he has a certain type of poisoning? and a rough determination of where it came from?
you might be able to claim i doubt it though as it would be hard to prove.