New Zealand couple served blood-soaked burger

AUCKLAND - A couple ordered burgers at a popular restaurant chain here and were shocked to find one of them soaked with human blood, a media report said Saturday.

Tim Hughley noticed the blood at the Westgate Burger King restaurant in West Auckland when his wife Rachel was about to bite into her burger. The still-wet blood had soaked into the bottom bun.

“I looked over because my wife was complaining they’d forgotten the lettuce. And I see this splatter of blood,” Hughley was quoted as saying by the New Zealand Herald.

Both of them checked to see if they had any cuts on their hands, but found nothing. They realised the blood must have come from the store counter where food was being packed for customers.

Burger King spokesperson Rachel Allison said the chef had a cut and had not noticed he was bleeding. As soon as the Hughleys complained, he was taken off burger-making duty and the food-making area was sanitised.

The company apologised profusely to the couple and offered vouchers, which they declined and said they would consider taking legal advice.

“What would have happened if my wife had bitten it and got hepatitis or AIDS?” he said.

Rachel Hughley said the incident was disgusting. “The first thing I was thinking was AIDS or hepatitis B,” she said. “It’s blood - I was about to throw up.”

Hughley said when he showed the burger to the manager, he jumped and said: “Oh my God, blood”. But instead of tending to the couple, the manager told them to wait and went back to the drive-in counter to serve customers.

Burger King staff do not wear gloves. They follow the practice of washing hands every hour and recording each wash on a form.