UPDATE (8 Aug): Pepper Lunch has said they have refunded the customer, while SFA confirmed they are looking into the matter. You can find their full statements below.
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Coming across pests, such as cockroaches, while digging into our meal is distressing.
Not to mention, such a sight can lead consumers to question the levels of hygiene of the establishment they purchased the food from.
This was the case for a man recently, whose daughter ordered a Pepper Lunch meal from Compass One in Sengkang via Grab.
She then found a cockroach in the food, which caused him to take to social media to highlight the matter.
Posting to Facebook on 5 Aug, the OP shared further details of the troubling discovery.
Source: Complaint Singapore on Facebook
He said his daughter ordered a Pepper Lunch meal via Grab, Chicken Pepper Rice Bowl Set A from the outlet at Compass One in Sengkang.
After receiving it, she took a few bites and realised a cockroach was in the bowl. The OP added that it seemed as if the restaurant had cooked the insect with the food.
Source: Facebook
“She felt very traumatised and nauseous,” the OP said, describing the effect the discovery had on his daughter.
He noted that he hoped the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) would investigate the matter thoroughly and update him.
In an image attached to the post, a cockroach is visible in a bowl of rice.
Speaking to MS News, Pepper Lunch said they became aware of the case on 5 Aug, 11pm.
The area manager in charge, together with his team on duty, contacted pest management for checks. At 9am the day after, professional partners for pest management arrived at the outlet and completed all checks and treatment before opening hours.
Despite observing no more signs of pest activities, the team arranged for another check at 4pm. Yet again, the partners reported “no sign of pest activity.”
On 7 Aug, the food chain conducted a review of past pest management reports for other outlets.
“All controls were in place, no pest activity was reported, good cleanliness to be maintained,” they said, adding that the outlet had kept a consistent track record of no pest activities for the past three months.
In addition, Pepper Lunch’s customer service team contacted the customer and apologised, sharing their investigations and rectification actions.
They have also refunded the customer for his order via Grab.
“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers and are working with our pest management vendor to take extra precautions to prevent future occurrences,” Pepper Lunch said.
SFA told MS News that they are looking into the matter.
They added that they took a serious view towards food safety and would investigate feedback alleging poor practices.
As part of the investigation, they might reach out to the OP for more details and would not hesitate to take enforcement action in the case of sufficient evidence.
Members of the public who do come across errant food operators can report it via SFA’s online feedback form.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Complaint Singapore on Facebook.
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