West Lakes McDonald’s employee reveals shocking claims of substandard health, safety and sanitary conditions

With claims of rats, insects and mould, an Adelaide McDonald’s employee has lifted the lid on the hygiene horrors that plague a popular SA store. See the whistleblower’s photos.

A McDonald's employee has blown the whistle on the horrid conditions at the fast food giant's West Lakes location. Picture: Keryn Stevens

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A McDonald’s employee at Adelaide’s beleaguered West Lakes restaurant has revealed further shocking claims of substandard health, safety and sanitary conditions within the store.

The employee, who spoke under anonymity, claimed staff dealt with not only poor working conditions, but also food safety concerns for customers.

“Were talking like mould in the ice cream machines, mould on the thermometers we use to test the milk with,” they said.

“We have rats in our ceiling at the moment, we used to have spiders in the cafe.”

The sundae machine has layers of milk that have become discoloured due to not being cleaned properly. Picture: Supplied

A picture of the mustard gun, which the employee claims has white specs are mould. Picture: Supplied

The employee also claims that despite concerns over food safety being raised by employees, the issues had not been addressed in a timely manner.

The employee said they were laughed at when they tried to raise the issue of rats in the ceiling.

The issue is supposed to be reported to corporate, with pest control sent out, the employee said.

“I’ve only seen one pest control person in the years I’ve been here because usually, they make crew clean up these pests.

The employee says such tasks are outside the remit of staff responsibilities and that young employees, “shouldn’t be using chemicals” to kill pests.

It’s not just pest control, the employee claims some of the cleaning chemicals used instore were handled by young staff who had not been properly instructed in their use or provided with adequate personal protective equipment (PPE).

The uncleaned basin which has containers of sundae toppings placed inside it. Picture: Supplied

In one instance, the employee claims they saw a manager administer first aid to a young staff member after they got graffiti remover in their eyes.

They also claimed the PPE that was provided was often old and “ripped in places” with new PPE not being replaced in line with company policy.

“We don’t get new [PPE] that often,” they said.

“When you change the vats or the grills, you can still feel the heat very strongly through our PPE.”

The allegations come after the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) investigated the West Lakes premises in December 2024 after claims workers had been denied access to water and bathroom breaks during shifts.

SDA secretary Josh Peak said the West Lakes site had been subject to multiple complaints by workers over a series of 18 months relating to worker health and safety.

“The SDA is continuing to investigate further complaints and we are doing everything possible to ensure McDonald’s takes their obligations seriously,” he said.

In a statement, a McDonald’s Australia spokesperson said: “We have strict protocols and procedures in our restaurants to prioritise safety, cleanliness and hygiene. Our managers and crew are routinely trained on restaurant safety, operations and reporting procedures, and we will reinforce these with the team at West Lakes.”

“At all times, crew have access to PPE equipment, which is regularly restocked as a safety priority.

“Our soft serve and thick shake machines are regularly cleaned and inspected by external professionals. Additionally, monthly professional pest control inspections are undertaken, with the most recent (conducted earlier this week) providing no evidence of pest activity inside the restaurant. Our pest services provider will visit the restaurant again this week.

“We encourage any crew members to share and report their concerns or incidents to restaurant managers or escalate concerns and incidents to our employee hotline to ensure they are thoroughly investigated.”