A former McDonaldβs employee has shared shocking photos of a dirty tray he pulled out from a McFlurry machine while on shift.
Nick, from Louisiana, USA, said he pulled the tray - filled with gunk and grease - out of the machine, after accidentally spilling ice cream nearby.
The 18-year-old later shared photos of the contents of the tray on Twitter, explaining: βThis came out of McDonaldβs ice cream machine in case yβall were wondering.β
In response, a spokesperson for McDonaldβs US told HuffPost UK: βThis is a part of our soft serve equipment that does not come into contact with any food and is required to undergo regular and timely cleaning.β
Nick, whose tweet was shared more than 14,000 times, continued to βexposeβ other areas of the restaurant on Twitter, such as the greasy floors, dirty utensils and frozen food.
He later told BuzzFeed he was βshockedβ by what he saw.
Some people were a little disturbed by his findings...
However a lot of people didnβt seem too bothered: one person told Nick it was his fault for not cleaning the machine properly in the first place, while another said you canβt tar all McDonaldβs franchises with the same brush.
Nick later tweeted to say heβd lost his job. βI got fired from McDonaldβs,β he wrote, before adding: βI strategically planned this because I start working at my new job Friday.β
McDonaldβs operates a policy which discourages employees from sharing information online that could damage its brand. According to BuzzFeed, the policy states: βAny deviation from these commitments may be subject to disciplinary or other appropriate action, up to and including termination of employment.β
A spokesperson from McDonaldβs in the US added: βWe are committed to running great restaurants that provide our customers with high quality food, service and a clean environment.β