Pizza chain Little Caesars boasts a grab-and-go $5.99 Hot-N-Ready Pizza that they claim makes life “more convenient.” But for one family in Georgia, the Hot-N-Ready promotion did just the opposite. Now a mom is claiming that the pizza chain is responsible for her daughter’s second-degree burns.
Koddi Dunn and her family stopped into the Lawrenceville, Georgia Little Caesars store to pick up dinner for her two sons. They went into the store, paid for and received their pizza, and then returned to the car. When her eldest son, Jeremiah, handed a slice to his brother, Jaden, their 2-year-old sister Jordyn was caught in the crossfire. Scalding hot sauce and cheese dripped onto her hand and leg, thus causing blisters and severe burns.
Jordyn immediately began screaming and Dunn drove directly to the hospital. There, doctors confirmed Jordyn suffered second-degree burns.
“We had no idea that it was basically lava inside that pizza box,” Dunn told local NBC news station, 11Alive, on October 14th.
The Dunn family immediately confronted Little Caesars to find out what went so terribly wrong. The manager of the Lawrenceville chain said the store was so busy that staff members were handing out pizzas straight from the oven rather than letting them cool.
[fm_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npzydYjikIE"]Hot-N-Ready Pizzas are usually cooled to about 165 degrees before being boxed and served to the public. The pizzas being served that night were peaking at around 400 degrees. (According to 11Alive, Little Caesars cooks their pizzas in a 500-degree oven.)
“Why would they put a 400-degree item in a box and hand it to a customer without warning?” Dunn questioned, per 11Alive. “That’s not what they normally do. The pizza is supposed to cool before its ever distributed. Even when you make pizza at home they tell you to allow it to cool for 5 minutes.”
The manager told the Dunns that he would pass on their complaint, but warned them that upper management most likely would not respond.
Mother says child got second-degree burns from hot pizza https://t.co/KCztLVXhVF pic.twitter.com/2N80ZggYQ7
— 11Alive News (@11AliveNews) October 15, 2018
After the 11Alive news story aired, the Dunns received a call from Little Caesars’ corporate office. They told the family that they are aware of the situation, but did not offer any reparations. The Dunns are reportedly seeking legal action.
Little Caesars did respond to 11Alive’s request for comment, stating, “The safety of our customers and employees is our highest priority. We are aware of this unfortunate incident. Our hearts go out to Jordyn and her family and we wish her a speedy recovery. We are continuing to work with the customer and the franchisee of this store. At this time, we believe that all procedures were followed. As a precaution, we have a warning label on our pizza boxes. Our customers expect to receive fresh, hot pizza out of the oven.”
The Dunns wanted to spread awareness and alert other parents that the Hot-N-Ready Pizzas can truly be too hot. “A $5 box of pizza should NEVER end with a trip to the ER,” Dunn said. We’re glad Jordyn is recovering and hope pizza never lashes out at her again.
