St. Croix Woman Sickened By Dead Roach Found In Beverage At McDonald’s

A woman who stopped by the Sunny Isle branch of McDonald’s on St. Croix for a bite to eat on Thursday became physically ill after finding a dead roach at the bottom of a cup of soft drink she had just consumed.

The woman, who was still shaken when she spoke with VI Consortium, said the incident took place at around 11:30 a.m. at the Sunny Isle food court.

The woman said she purchased a Big Mac combo special to go with a small fruit punch drink. As she was heading West on Queen Mary Highway, she began drinking the beverage.

Roach found in McDonald’s Sunny Isle fruit punch beverage

The woman told VI Consortium she “had just a little bit left over,” when she removed the plastic lid from the cup to grab a handful of ice to munch on and noticed the bug floating at the bottom of the cup.

She became nauseated and vomited.

The woman said after she completed her errands, she returned to the restaurant with the cup containing the compromised beverage and alerted a restaurant manager.

The woman said the manager took her contact information and the cup containing the dead roach. However, the woman took pictures of the cup and provided them to VI Consortium.

When VI Consortium arrived at the restaurant, a Health Department inspection officer could be seen inspecting the restaurant’s kitchen. While the inspection officer confirmed the incident had taken place, he referred VI Consortium to the Health Department for comment.

Inspector inside McDonald’s kitchen, Sunny Isle

Multiple calls placed to the Health Department’s public relations office were not returned at press time.

Late Thursday evening, the woman told VI Consortium the inspection officer called her to inform her that the restaurant had recently been serviced by a local exterminator. However, during his inspection today, the officer said he found multiple dead roaches in the restaurant’s kitchen area and suggested that the roach found in her beverage may have come from the ice dispenser.

VI Consortium has reached out to McDonald’s for comment and will continue to follow this story.