Fast food giant, McDonald’s, is battling allegations from a New Zealand woman who claims she discovered a half eaten cockroach in a hamburger purchased at its restaurant in Blenheim on the weekend.

Annah Sophia Stevenson told Fairfax New Zealand that she bought a Big Mac meal on Saturday night only to find a cockroach in it while eating it in the privacy of her home.

“The guts were hanging out and it had a big hole in the middle of it,” she said.

“I was trying to squeeze my teeth through it. I was chewing on that thing for a while. I thought it was a bit of gristly meat.” Stevenson posted pictures on Facebook, saying she felt “violated, ill, traumatised, and disgusted”.

McDonald’s Blenheim in NZ’s South Island contacted Stevenson as soon as it became aware of the allegations on Facebook.

It collected the burger “for independent testing”, however, Stevenson’s friends advised her not to leave the hamburger in McDonald’s hands as it was not impartial, leading to Stevenson requesting the burger’s return on Monday. According to McDonald’s, this has severely limited its ability to further investigate the matter.

It said council health inspectors have visited the restaurant and found no evidence of pests.

“It’s important to note that the products were ordered via drive thru, transported by car, and then consumed at the customer’s home,” McDonald’s said.