You have GOT to be kidding me

[fireheart17]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/busine...-1226625422842

So 20 years after the infamous McDonalds hot coffee case in the US went ahead....


We get a repeat of it down here.

Quick background: Renmark is a mining town.

As far as I'm aware, a few things that make me think that the case is unlikely to get much:

1) McCafe staff generally require customers to put their own lids on their cups of coffee. Generally, the security of said lid is up to them, not McCafe staff.
2) You can't order coffee through the drive-thru (at least as far as I'm aware) down here.
3) After the incident that occurred in the US, I would BET that McDonalds franchise holders would've been extremely careful to keep an eye on the coffee temp.
4) McDonalds coffee cups are generally insulated or similar so that customers can actually y'know, DRINK their coffee. No matter how hot it is.

[BlaqueKatt]

3) After the incident that occurred in the US, I would BET that McDonalds franchise holders would've been extremely careful to keep an eye on the coffee temp.
4) McDonalds coffee cups are generally insulated or similar so that customers can actually y'know, DRINK their coffee. No matter how hot it is.

3-no they didn't do anything about the temperature, just added "caution hot" to the cups.

4-technically the temperature coffee is "supposed to be consumed at" is likely to cause 2nd and 3rd degree burns. Yes we all drink our coffee improperly according to the coffee snobs.

National Coffee Association

Your brewer should maintain a water temperature between 195 - 205 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal extraction.
Brewed coffee begins to lose its optimal taste moments after brewing so only brew as much coffee as will be consumed immediately. If it will be a few minutes before it will be served, the temperature should be maintained at 180 - 185 degrees Fahrenheit.

*

at 140 degrees Fahrenheit it takes 3 seconds for a second degree burn to develop, and an additional 2 seconds(or 5 seconds total), for a third degree burn.

heck your plumbing is limited to 120 degrees Fahrenheit by voluntary agreement between the CSPC and the plumber's association.

*my local coffee shop does not follow these "rules" they serve coffee at a temperature that doesn't burn you, and I love them for it, you have to request "hot" coffee, otherwise it's around 110-120. And it tastes just fine(they use good quality coffee, roasted with an air roaster, which makes burned beans impossible)

[HYHYBT]

1) McCafe staff generally require customers to put their own lids on their cups of coffee. Generally, the security of said lid is up to them, not McCafe staff.

Seems to me that would lead to more spills. The lids (assuming they're the same type we have here) snap on very tightly *if* they're put on the right way, but that's not the way people intuitively do them.

[jackfaire]

Many things have to be cooked or prepared at a temperature higher than that at which you would actually consume them at. That's why we tell our kids to blow on their food and we wait for food to cool before serving.

Getting mad or calling this ridiculous is what seems wrong.

[Andara Bledin]

Getting mad or calling this ridiculous is what seems wrong.

I don't know about down there, but in the US, it's illegal to serve coffee hot enough for 3rd degree burns. It was that, the fact that the store in question had already been cited and fined multiple times for it, and the callous disregard the McD's rep showed for Liebeck and other burn victims due to their "statistical insignificance" that made that case what it was.

That said, the "put your sugar and creamer in then lid it yourself" mandate probably saves more spills than it makes.

[HYHYBT]

That said, the "put your sugar and creamer in then lid it yourself" mandate probably saves more spills than it makes.

How does the customer's handling the coffee unlidded save spills over receiving it already sealed with cream and sweetener inside, as is done here?

[BlaqueKatt]

I don't know about down there, but in the US, it's illegal to serve coffee hot enough for 3rd degree burns. It was that, the fact that the store in question had already been cited and fined multiple times for it, and the callous disregard the McD's rep showed for Liebeck and other burn victims due to their "statistical insignificance" that made that case what it was.

not sure where your information is from.

the real stella awards

McDonald's quality control managers specified that its coffee should be served at 180-190 degrees Fahrenheit.

Witnesses for McDonald's admitted in court that consumers are unaware of the extent of the risk of serious burns from spilled coffee served at McDonald's required temperature, admitted that it did not warn customers of this risk, could offer no explanation as to why it did not, and testified that it did not intend to turn down the heat even though it admitted that its coffee is "not fit for consumption" when sold because it is too hot.

There is no "legal" temperature for coffee, apparently Starbucks serves at 180 or higher, while your home coffee maker dispenses at around 140.

[Seifer]

How does the customer's handling the coffee unlidded save spills over receiving it already sealed with cream and sweetener inside, as is done here?

Because some dummies still find it necessary to uncap their coffee in their car and mess with it. Usually, once someone has made their own coffee and gotten the taste testing and experimenting out of the way, they don't have a need to mess with the cap. It's also safer to have a spill when your coffee is on a counter at least a foot away from your body. That way, you can actually get out of the way of oncoming liquid. If a spill occurs right in your lap while driving, you're SOL.

[Andara Bledin]

As much as I love Cassingham and the Stella awards, there's some vital information missing from his page on the case.

A Page about Legal Terminology at an injury attorney site includes this comment under their definition of Frivolous Lawsuit:

The McDonalds store had been issued multiple citations by the Department of Health because of the unsafe coffee temperature, but refused to comply with the Health Department.

[HYHYBT]

Because some dummies still find it necessary to uncap their coffee in their car and mess with it. Usually, once someone has made their own coffee and gotten the taste testing and experimenting out of the way, they don't have a need to mess with the cap. It's also safer to have a spill when your coffee is on a counter at least a foot away from your body. That way, you can actually get out of the way of oncoming liquid. If a spill occurs right in your lap while driving, you're SOL.

Which doesn't really answer the question. "Some dummies still find it necessary to uncap their coffee" is necessarily going to mean less uncapped coffee than "all people receive their coffee uncapped." Also, you're comparing different situations. You have someone receiving capped coffee fixing it up while in a car to someone receiving uncapped coffee at a counter and fixing it right there. Try handing uncapped coffee out a drive-thru window and see how well that works. Or, for that matter, carrying uncapped coffee from the counter over to the condiment stand.