The customer who recently visited a McDonald's at the YES Planet cinema multiplex in Jerusalem reports that moments before taking a bite of his food, he discovered an unusual finding inside his hamburger.

"Today I sat down to eat what I ordered. But instead of fries and ketchup – I found a snail inside my food. Yes, a snail. Inside the meal. Two bites – and that's what was waiting for me inside," he wrote. "McDonald's – how does something like this happen?" he wrote in an angry Facebook post, "and how do you even dare to respond like that?" he asked while describing the incident details.

Following the surprising incident, the customer says he approached a worker at the location, who personally saw the snail in question. "He claimed it probably came from the lettuce. Documentation? Yes. Video? Yes. Disgust? Double. And not only that – I contacted McDonald's customer service, and expected at least a genuine apology and taking responsibility. But what did I get? An offer of compensation of... one meal. Excuse me?! A snail inside the food – and you're offering me more food? That's not compensation, it's shameful," the angry customer wrote.

"How does something like this happen at a huge chain? Where is the supervision? Where is the responsibility? And what's the message to consumers – that we need to check every bite? I demand a serious response, immediate treatment, and appropriate compensation – not for food, but for the harm, disgust, and disrespect," he finally added, along with pictures and video evidence of the described incident.

In one of the pictures attached to the post, the customer shows his complaint to McDonald's Israel customer service. "Really sorry about the incident. It's important to note that we take the case with full seriousness and will handle the issue with the relevant parties, so that such cases do not happen again," was written in response to his complaint. "Vouchers have been sent to you by SMS, hoping for a corrective experience in the future. Really hope your next order will be nothing less than perfect."

McDonald's Israel responded with the following statement: "This is an unusual incident that does not align with the high standards of food safety and quality that we maintain daily in all our chain's branches. After the customer's complaint, we immediately contacted the relevant vegetable supplier to conduct a thorough investigation of the circumstances of the incident. The findings will be forwarded to the customer. We apologize again for the incident."

The post Shell shocked: Man finds snail in McDonald's hamburger appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

After testing the AI chatbot technology at over 100 restaurants in 2021, with an 85% accuracy rate but requiring human assistance, McDonald's is ending its two-year experiment with IBM's AOT by late July 2024, phasing it out due to issues with accuracy, viral videos of customers struggling with the AI, and complexities in scaling the technology across its vast number of locations, diverse promotional offerings, menu variations, dialects, and human interactions.

McDonald's acquired AI speech company Apprente in 2019 and partnered with IBM to develop Automated Order Taker (AOT) technology for drive-thrus, aiming to simplify operations and improve customer experience.

In 2021, McDonald's entered a global partnership with IBM to test AOT at over 100 drive-thrus, as it operates the largest fast-food drive-thru system with over 27,000 locations worldwide.

Despite the initial goal of enhancing the drive-thru experience, McDonald's decided to discontinue the initiative due to viral videos showing flaws, including order inaccuracies and customer struggles.

The AI technology aimed to simplify operations, create a faster experience, and attract tech-savvy Gen Z and Millennials through upselling, but the fast-food giant tested automated voice-ordering technology at ten drive-thrus in Chicago, achieving 85% order accuracy, with human employees tending to intervene, disrupting the AI's function during the pilot.

While the reason for ending the IBM deal is unclear, McDonald's plans to explore alternative voice ordering solutions and new technological collaborations, aiming to finalize a new system by the end of the year, as the company remains committed to exploring automation and technology improvements.

Other fast-food companies like White Castle and Wendy's are also exploring AI options, while IBM stated it would work with other Quick-Serve Restaurant clients on the AOT technology, which is already being tested or used at drive-thrus in chains like Hardee's, Krystal, and Wendy's.

McDonald's plans to selectively invest in AI and automation technologies to improve efficiency without full deployment across all outlets, aiming to integrate technology to complement human workers and enhance service capabilities.

Sources: Business Insider, The Verge, PCMag, Yahoo, TechStory, Business Insider India, Technology Inquirer, Local12, TweakTown, Tasting Table, PC-Tablet, Quartz.

This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.

The post McDonald's ends AI drive-thru ordering experiment with IBM appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

For Israelis, who like to put practically everything inside this pocket-style bread, this may be a hit, considering that the earlier iterations of those dishes – which came in a tortilla – were a huge success.

The post McDonald's poised to reintroduce classic Israeli favorites in July appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

As part of its vision to reduce plastics, McDonald's largest independent franchise has announced that it will be replacing its standard plastic food trays with a more sustainable, recycled plastic produced by Israeli cleantech startup UBQ Materials.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Since launching its plastics reduction program in 2018, Arcos Dorados, which operates McDonald's restaurants in Latin America and the Caribbean, has removed over 1,300 tons of single-use plastic from its outlets.

UBQ Materials converts household waste into a climate-positive, biobased, thermoplastic. In contrast to standard recycling procedures, UBQ's technology takes all types of landfill- waste – food leftovers, paper, cardboard, and mixed plastics – and converts it all into a single composite thermoplastic material compatible with industry machinery and manufacturing standards.

In the first phase of the partnership, 30 restaurants operated by McDonald's Brazil replaced 7,200 serving trays with new ones from UBQ. The plan is to extend the model to all McDonald's outlets in Brazil. Another 11,000 trays are already in production, and the new trays will keep over 1,200 kg of waste out of landfills.

According to UBQ, every ton of its bio-based thermoplastic keeps nearly 12 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent prevents nearly 12 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent out of the environment. According to Quantis, a firm that assesses environmental impact, this metric makes UBQ the most climate-positive thermoplastic on the market.

The new trays are produced by the Brazilian company Semaza, whose plant is in Santana de Parnaíba, in the Greater São Paulo region. The introduction of trays made with UBQ will be gradually extended to the other units in the chain, while old tray models withdrawn from the restaurants will be used in the circular economy projects promoted by Arcos Dorados.

"We as a company are fully committed to the environment and are doing everything possible to reduce the impact of our operation by means of our Recipe for the Future platform. The partnership with UBQ is yet another step towards introducing more and more innovative solutions to improve the world around us, and we are proud to take this first step, supporting a technology that will transform the way society recycles its organic waste," said Gabriel Serber, director of sustainable development and social impact at Arcos Dorados.

Executive chairman of UBQ Materials Albert Douer said that "UBQ has the potential to revolutionize the way we view waste. The market at large is demanding sustainable solutions and the fast-food industry is no exception. UBQ enables manufacturers to create products that positively impact our world, without compromising on profitability – the solution is as simple as implementation."

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post McDonald's Brazil goes greener with Israeli cleantech startup UBQ appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

McRib, the fast-food sandwich that went viral before viral was a thing, is back.

McDonald's announced Friday that for the first time in eight years, it will be offering nationwide its barbeque slathered sandwich with the cult following.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

The McRib will appear on the menus Dec. 2, for a limited time of course.

The McRib is an elusive prize for adherents, who scour the internet for reports of its surfacing at limited locations, and for a short amount of time. There is even a website called the McRib Locator, created to spread the word about McDonald's restaurants that are offering the boneless pork sandwich served with slivered onions and pickles on top.

The company's social media team this month lamented a lack of concern over its feelings, when the McRib enters the conversation.

McDonald's is reintroducing the McRib nationally as it tries to regain its footing during the pandemic, which left many of its dining rooms sparsely populated or empty, though drive-thrus continued to operate.

When it released second-quarter earnings in July showing a 68% decline in net income, the world's largest burger chain said it would spend more than $200 million to support franchisee marketing during the second quarter in a bid to get customers back.

It's not impossible to get a McRib any time you want it, but you might need to travel to Germany, where it's on the menu year-round.

The McRib debuted nationally in the US in 1982.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post McDonald's cult classic, the McRib, is coming back appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The chain has rebalanced the diet of some of the cows by adding lemongrass in a bid to limit bovine contributions to climate change. By tweaking their diet, Burger King said Tuesday that it believes it can reduce a cow's daily methane emissions by about 33%.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Cows emit methane as a by-product of their digestion, and that has become a potential public relations hurdle for major burger chains.

Greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture sector made up 9.9% of total US greenhouse gas emissions in 2018, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Of that amount, methane emissions from livestock (called enteric fermentation) comprised more than a quarter of the emissions from the agriculture sector.

With an over-the-top social media campaign that teeters between vulgarity and science (sprinkled with more vulgarity), Burger King is banking on the heightened awareness of climate change and its responsibility to limit its own role.

According to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about two out of three Americans say corporations have a responsibility to combat climate change. The gravitational pull of climate change is increasingly finding its way onto the national political stage.

Potential customers are also cutting down on the amount of meat they consume, citing both environmental and dietary concerns. Burger King and rival McDonald's have added meat alternatives to their menus.

Two years ago McDonald's said it was taking steps to cut the greenhouse gases it emits. It tweaked the manner in which the beef in its Big Macs and Quarter Pounders was produced. The company said at the time that it expected the changes to prevent 150 million metric tons (165 million tons) of greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the atmosphere by 2030.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

Burger King worked with scientists at the Autonomous University at the State of Mexico and at the University of California, Davis to test and develop its formula of adding 100 grams of lemongrass leaves to the cows' daily diets. Preliminary tests indicate that the lemongrass leaves help the cows release less methane as they digest their food.

On Tuesday, Burger King introduced its Reduced Methane Emissions Beef Whopper, made with beef sourced from cows that emit reduced methane, in select restaurants in Miami, New York, Austin, Portland and Los Angeles, while supplies last.

The post Burger King tackles climate change by changing cows' diets appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

In a message published on social media, McDonald's Israel wrote, "Bye for now, see you later."

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

"Dear customers, in light of the growing coronavirus crisis, McDonald's Israel has decided to close all its restaurants and operate only five on an emergency basis," the company wrote in the goodbye post.

"We hope to get back to normal quickly. Bye for now, see you later," the message read.

The post Israel's biggest burger chain closes due to coronavirus, with a twist appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

As part of the deal, Apprente's team will form a new internal group within the fast-food chain's technology team, called McD Tech Labs. The Silicon Valley-based startup, founded in 2017 by Israeli entrepreneurs Itamar Arel and Moshe Looks, develops artificial intelligence and voice-based conversational technology for use in loud environments, such as drive-thru restaurants.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

"Apprente's technology will allow for faster, simpler and more accurate ordering at the Drive Thru," McDonald's said on its website. "We are committed to developing high-quality, positive and personalized experiences to meet rising expectations – both for customers and restaurant employees."

"The initial focus of the Silicon Valley team will be to enhance technology for use in McDonald's Drive Thru. However, we believe that the broader voice-based technology also has the potential to reach customers when, where and how they want through incorporation into mobile ordering or kiosks," continued McDonald's. "With this move, we're investing in the talent and technology that will ultimately make our customer and restaurant employee experience better."

This marks McDonald's second acquisition of an Israeli company this year. In March, it acquired Israel-based web personalization company Dynamic Yield Ltd. for an estimated $300 million.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

The post McDonald's to acquire Israeli customer-service tech startup Apprente appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

McDonald's will pay more than $300 million, a person familiar with the matter said.

McDonald's said it would use Dynamic Yield's technology to change its digital drive-thru menu displays to show food based on the time of day, weather, current restaurant traffic and trending menu items.

The deal comes as the world's biggest fast-food chain is still struggling in its home market, where it faces fierce competition from rival chains that have also been upping their games with promotional offers and increased investments in digital and delivery services.

"With this acquisition, we're expanding both our ability to increase the role technology and data will play in our future and the speed with which we'll be able to implement our vision of creating more personalized experiences for our customers," Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook said in a statement.

The company said it would roll out the technology at restaurants in the United States in 2019 and then expand the use to other top international markets.

McDonald's will start integrating the technology into all its digital offerings, such as self-order kiosks and McDonald's Global Mobile App.

Dynamic Yield was founded in 2011 by CEO Liad Agmon and CTO Omri Mendellevich and raised $32 million last August, bringing the total funds raised to a reported $83 million. The company has 200 employees, most of them in its Tel Aviv development center as well as development, sales and operations staff in its New York office.

"When Omri Mendellevich, our CTO, and I started Dynamic Yield seven years ago, the premise of what we were building was based on customer-centric organizations making individualized experiences and personalization a strategic priority," Agmon wrote on the company website. "Our acquisition by McDonald's, one of the most iconic and beloved brands of our time, is truly an endorsement of that vision as they have chosen Dynamic Yield to help power personalization across their 37,000 restaurants in 120+ markets around the world."

The post McDonald's to buy Israel's Dynamic Yield for $300 million appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.