A Wildomar resident was dining at an El Pollo Loco restaurant in Menifee, California when she said that she found white pills mixed in with her salads. On Tuesday night, Gina Franco posted a video on her Facebook page showing the pills in her and her daughter's food.
"I noticed a tart," Franco said about first finding the pills.
In total, Franco said she found about half a dozen pills in her salad, and two inside of the salad that her daughter ordered. She immediately called the restaurant and spoke to the manager.
"She apologized on the phone, and said -- I don't know if it it was something to be funny -- but she said, 'We do have a new burrito guy on the line and maybe he messed up on something,'" Franco said.
So she went back to the store to speak with the Menifee El Pollo Loco employees in person. Franco said that all the manager did was apologize, and offer a refund. That's when she decided to call the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, where officials promised they were investigating the incident.
An El Pollo Loco spokesperson later released a statement that read: "El Pollo Loco is committed to serving the highest quality products, and food safety is our number one priority. This is the first we have heard of this video and we are very concerned. We take all claims seriously and value our customers and their experience at our restaurants. We immediately opened an investigation and are attempting to contact the customer directly."
"I just want to make sure it doesn't happen to other people," Franco said. "Because one, we don't know what the substance is, and two, even if it's not narcotics, someone could still be highly allergic to whatever the content carried."
Read the full report on ABC 7.