Lettuce photo gets 3 Burger King workers fired at Mayfield Heights fast-food joint

MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio - Burger King says three workers were fired after a photo posted online appeared to show an employee stepping on lettuce in bins at a northeast Ohio restaurant.

The hamburger chain's statements didn't directly confirm reports that the picture was taken at the Mayfield Heights location on July 13.

The Cuyahoga County Board of Health followed up on the food contamination incident at the Mayfield Road restaurant. According to statements obtained from the management team at the Burger King, "the contaminated lettuce was discovered the next day by the morning shift manager who disposed of it prior to the opening of the business."

Burger King Corp. says the franchisee that runs the independently operated restaurant quickly investigated the matter, and three employees were terminated.

The company says it won't tolerate such violations of its strict procedures for safely handling food.

It didn't comment on the circumstances in which the photo was taken. News outlets say the picture was posted on the free-for-all website 4chan.org, and GPS data embedded in the photo led to the restaurant.

Burger King Corp. is a unit of Burger King Worldwide Inc.