McDonald's issues urgent warning to customers after woman 'nearly dies'

Beth Mcintosh, 32, was rushed to hospital in an ambulance after she ate the fast food giant's cheeseburger at a restaurant in Exeter

McDonald's has issued a statement after a customer reported a brush with death after consuming a cheeseburger. The A fast food behemoth has issued a critical alert following the frightening incident.

Beth McIntosh visited the Exeter Maccies last Wednesday, and shortly after tucking into a cheeseburger, she described going into anaphylactic shock, necessitating an urgent ambulance ride to the hospital.

Terrified Beth recounted: "It was quite severe. I actually thought that was it. Within minutes my face had come up all red and my eyes were swollen. My throat had started to close up. The EpiPen had improved me a little bit by the time the ambulance arrived."

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"But they said if they hadn't got there soon they don't know what would have happened."

The ordeal was particularly alarming for Beth, marking her first encounter with an allergic reaction. Only in recent years did she become aware of her nut allergy.

Beth added that her condition escalated to a "secondary reaction" whilst she was still receiving treatment in the hospital. Beth said: "Altogether the itching, the burning, the coughing and struggling to breathe lasted about four hours."

Serving as part of the McDonald's saver menu, the burger includes a beef patty, cheddar, ketchup, pickles, onions, and mustard; the latter ingredient is currently under scrutiny due to potential cross-contamination.

Earlier this week, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) released a pressing notice advising those with peanut allergies owing to suspicions of some market-available mustard products being tainted.

McDonald's, however, stands by their position that their mustard supply remains uncompromised by the potential contamination scare. The FSA has traced the contaminated ingredients back to a producer in India, but is still working with local authorities and businesses to identify affected products.

They have advised those with peanut allergies to avoid eating anything containing mustard until all potentially contaminated products have been identified.

Rebecca Sudworth, the FSA's Director of Food Policy, stated: "Those with a peanut allergy should avoid consuming products containing mustard as an ingredient until we identify the individual products affected."

"Parents and carers of children who have a peanut allergy should take care to check the labels of food they buy and, if eating out, or getting a takeaway, ask the restaurant or cafe about foods that might contain mustard."

"As soon as we have more information, we will update consumers. As always, we urge people with an allergy to sign up to our allergy alerts, so you can be notified about future allergy recalls."

One person said: "I thought I was going to lose my life."

A spokesperson for McDonald's reassured customers: "We are aware of the recent Food Standards Agency (FSA) warning regarding the potential contamination of mustard products with peanuts and want to reassure our customers that the mustard supplied to McDonald's, and therefore our products, have in no way been affected by this issue.

"However, while we are confident our mustard has not been impacted, we cannot fully ensure any item in our restaurant is entirely allergen-free.

"Although our menu items do not contain nut or peanut ingredients, we are unable to guarantee that our food is completely free from nuts or peanuts - something we make clear in our allergens guidance."