Boy licks communal tongs at Susiro outlet in Hong Kong
Japanese food chain Sushiro has said it will take legal action after a young boy was seen licking its tongs and dropping them at an outlet in Hong Kong (HK).
The viral video posted on Threads on Tuesday (4 Feb) showed that the boy had inserted the tips of the tongs into his mouth and moved them around.
Source: @syliu_819 on Threads
Boy drops tongs on the floor in Sushiro Hong Kong outlet
The boy, who was kneeling on the seat, was next to an adult man who did not stop his behaviour.
After being manipulated for a few seconds, the tongs slipped from the boy’s grasp and dropped to the floor.
Source: @syliu_819 on Threads
The netizen who posted the video also indicated that the tongs were a communal implement meant for customers to pick up ginger slices.
Source: @syliu_819 on Threads
They did not mention whether the tongs were cleaned or returned to their container.
Netizens disgusted by boy’s behaviour
Netizens reacted with disgust to the post, which has gained 21,500 likes and 11,700 shares so far.
One said that the boy’s actions had caused everything in the whole outlet to become unsanitary and unusable, while another said that they loved conveyor belt sushi but would “never go there again”.
Others also took exception to the boy kneeling with his shoes touching the seat.
Source: @syliu_819 on Threads
A number of comments blamed the boy’s parents for not educating him on proper behaviour in public.
Sushiro Hong Kong expresses concern over boy’s actions
In a Facebook post on Wednesday (5 Feb), Sushiro HK said it was concerned over the “inappropriate use” of its ginger tongs by a customer at a table.
As the company attaches great importance to food safety and customer experience, it took immediate action after learning about the incident, it added.
As a result, all the ginger slices in the affected outlet have been disposed of, and all its ginger slice containers and tongs have been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.
The chain is considering changing how it serves ginger slices at its outlets. It will also strictly implement quality-control measures to ensure all food and utensils meet hygiene standards. it said.
Company condemns incident, to take legal action
Sushiro HK noted that the incident had caused concern among the public over its brand’s food hygiene and “seriously damaged” its brand image.
Thus, it strongly condemned what happened and would take strict measures over the incident.
This includes legal action, the company said.
Boy licked soy sauce bottle in Japan
This is not the first hygiene-related incident caused by a customer at Sushiro.
In 2023, Sushiro Japan sued a boy for a sum of 67 million yen (S$644,000) after he was seen licking a soy sauce bottle at an outlet.
His video then sparked a series of unhygienic pranks from others, resulting in a phenomenon known as “Sushi Terrorism”.
It also caused the shares of Sushiro’s parent company to fall by 4.8%.
Also read: Man Sprays Disinfectant On Food At Japan Sushiro Outlet, Restaurant Alerts Police To Incident
Man Sprays Disinfectant On Food At Japan Sushiro Outlet, Restaurant Alerts Police To Incident
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Featured image adapted from @syliu_819 on Threads.
