The University Center food court has pulled a recent fresh produce delivery from Chick-fil-A's kitchen following the discovery of insects in the food, the University said in a statement to The Cluster Thursday.
A short video of an alive, unidentifiable insect moving on lettuce from the restaurant circulated Thursday afternoon on YikYak, a pseudonymous social media platform. The original video was captured by Madison Mabbett '26, although she was not the person who posted the video on YikYak.
"I was halfway through my salad when all of a sudden I saw something moving on one singular piece of lettuce. I held it up to my friend and I was like, 'do you see that?'" Mabbett said.
Mabbett then threw away the salad and told Chick-fil-A employees, who she said responded with "blank stares."
"The Mercer Chick-fil-A in the University Center food court received a delivery of fresh produce from Chick-fil-A’s distributor that had an insect infestation," Mercer Senior Director of Media Relations Kyle Sears said in a statement to The Cluster. "This produce has been pulled from circulation, and Mercer is working with Chick-fil-A and its distributor to replace the produce."
The statement did not specify what food the "produce" was specifically or when it was delivered.
Mabbett said this experience has made her feel as if she "cannot trust fresh produce from any fast food restaurant on campus."
As of 4:20 p.m. on Thursday, Chick-fil-A remains open and serving food.
Mary Helene Hall ‘23 is a journalism and women’s and gender studies student who has worked for The Cluster throughout her time at Mercer. She has held internships at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and AL.com, where she covered a variety of topics including politics, crime and culture.
