A female customer who claimed that she bit into a "lizard" in her Sunshine Bakeries bread has been offered a full refund.
This was revealed by Sunshine Bakeries in an Instagram post on Nov. 17, 2023.
In the post, the company also said internal and external investigations found no insect or pest carcass inside the samples of the bread.
Instead, the samples were "a residue of bread dough" consisting of "a mixture of flour with water and yeast", added Sunshine Bakeries.
However, a woman, who claimed that she was the affected customer, told Mothership on Nov. 22 that she did not receive the refund.
What happened
On Nov. 16, a post was shared by Sgfollowsall claiming that the female colleague of the source had bitten off "the tail" of a lizard while consuming a bread she purportedly purchased from 7-Eleven.
A picture of the bread containing the alleged "lizard" was put up.
According to the photo, the bread appeared to be Sunshine Bakeries' Enriched Butter Sugar Wholemeal cream bun.
The partially eaten bread appeared at least half-eaten.
A dark green matter could be seen in the middle of the bun.
Statement from Sunshine Bakeries
Sunshine Bakeries said in its statement that it was aware of the social media posts about one of its products.
In the statement, the company also provided a detailed account of what happened on Nov. 3, when one of its retailers informed the company that a customer had returned one of its products, which allegedly contained the remains of a pest.
"Upon being alerted by our retailer, we immediately retrieved the product on the same day and followed our food security protocol by sending the product for investigations, both internally and externally — samples were sent to an independent testing and investigative facility," said Sunshine Bakeries.
According to the company, the independent third-party investigation report confirmed its internal investigation, which checked the sample under a microscope and found no insect or pest carcass inside.
"Considering the texture and the smell, the samples were a residue of bread dough," the statement reads.
Sunshine Bakeries reached out to customer involved
Sunshine Bakeries also added that the safety and satisfaction of its consumers was the brand's "top priority", and it took any customer complaint "very seriously".
"We apologise for any inadvertent inconvenience and worry caused to the customer," said the company.
Sunshine Bakeries also shared that it had tried to reach out directly to those who posted on social media about the incident, but the consumer involved had not responded directly to its message yet.
"We remain committed to the highest standard of food safety and processes. We thank you for your continued support towards Sunshine Bakeries," stated the company.
Top images via Sgfollowsall/Instagram