Crawley woman has allergic reaction after eating McDonald's wrap

Holly Carr went into anaphylactic shock and ended up in hospital after eating the chicken wrap from a branch in Crawley in 2021.

At first, the fast food giant refused to accept responsibility, and it wasn't until they were due to face Holly in court this month, she says, that the firm "admitted liability" and reached a financial settlement.

"If I hadn't had my EpiPen on me, I wouldn't be here right now,” said Ms Carr.

“But I don't get the feeling the company understand that's how serious it could've been."

The 37-year-old was enjoying a night in with her family on May 6, 2021, when they decided to order McDonald's.

The mum-of-four specifically ordered her grilled chicken wrap without mayonnaise, due to her allergy, which she developed during adulthood.

When the food arrived, their order seemed to be correct, and Ms Carr's wrap had a “no mayonnaise” sticker placed on the front.

Ms Carr said she suffered with PTSD after the incident (Image: SWNS)

But this was not the case, and after taking her first bite, she instantly knew something was wrong.

Ms Carr, who works as a carer, said: "It looked like my order was right because the wrap had a 'no mayo' sticker on it.

"I didn't think twice about checking, but after taking a bite, I immediately tasted the mayonnaise.

"I started to be violently sick and was drifting in and out of consciousness - and in that moment, I felt terrified.

"My fiance called 111 and they instructed him how to use my EpiPen, which saved my life.

The wrap had a “no mayonnaise” sticker on it (Image: SWNS)

"They sent an ambulance and I was taken to hospital where they ran some tests and gave me lots of fluids.

"But, thankfully, because I wasn't on my own, and I had a second epipen at home, I was swiftly discharged."

Ms Carr started legal proceedings against McDonald's a week after the incident, she said.

For almost two years, she claims McDonald's blamed her for not reading the label or the allergen advice.

But last week, the fast food brand "admitted liability" for the incident, according to a legal letter, and opted to settle outside of court for an undisclosed fee.

Ms Carr says she's happy to have received a financial settlement - but she fears the cdompany hasn't learned its lesson.

Ms Carr in hospital (Image: SWNS)

"It makes me so angry that they denied responsibility for so long,” she said.

"The amount I've received should be more to be honest, but I'm so tired of it now. It's been dragging on for nearly two years.

"I've seen a psychologist, who diagnosed me with PTSD from the incident, which can make eating hard sometimes.

"I hope they've learnt their lesson, but the way they've handled it doesn't fill me with confidence.”

A spokesman for McDonald's said: “We would like to offer our apologies to this customer for their experience.

"We take order accuracy very seriously and have procedures in place to help ensure customers are served correctly.

"We are disappointed that we fell short of these high standards on this occasion and additional training has been provided to the restaurant team to ensure they understand the policies in place.”