McDonald's deny scooping snow from street to make drinks

A McDonald's customer was left speechless after he witnessed an employee scoop snow from outside using a blender jug.

Mr Chao, who uploaded the footage online, was with friends at a branch in Henan province, China when he filmed the worker ladling the snow in full view of staff and customers.

In the video, the uniformed employee is seen going outside and scooping up the snow only to return to the restaurant's kitchen some seconds later, all the while being closely filmed by Mr Chao. He saw the woman do the same thing four times before he began filming, he claims.

According to Mr Chao, his friends all complained of feeling ill following their meal but did not personally witness staff preparing drinks with the meltwater.

The restaurant manager has admitted that the branch did not have running water that day but insisted that staff only used bottled water to prepare drinks.

Senior staff at McDonald's China said that the ice was being used for cleaning purposes only.

"The worker is planning to use the ice water to clean the restaurant but not for making food or drinks. We care for our customers' health," they told Btime news website.

Some viewers of the video have backed up this claim as one employee in the video is heard saying: "The snow is very difficult to melt. I will boil it and give it to you to mop the floor."