A Mothership reader steamed up and took a mouthful of xiao long bao, before she realised something was not quite right with the food.

Taking a closer look, Jane Alethea Seet noticed "white flakes" on the surface of the xiao long baos.

It turned out to be pieces of plastic.

Plastic "seasoning"

Seet had purchased a pack of frozen Golden Chef Xiao Long Bao through the FairPrice website, which arrived at her doorstep on Mar. 18, 2024.

According to The New Paper, Golden Chef is a brand that was specially created for the canned abalone and seafood category by FairPrice.

CNA reported that the brand is available exclusively at FairPrice outlets and FairPrice Online.

The baos were being sold at a discounted price of S$6.60, which has been marked down from S$7.34, according to the item's website — which appears to be unavailable as of Mar. 26.

She told Mothership that upon closer inspection of the packet, she found bits of plastic scattered on top of the xiao long baos.

She said that the biggest piece of plastic was around "1cm or bigger".

The plastic appeared to have come from the plastic tray holding the xiao long baos, which was broken.

Seet only noticed the state of the tray when she checked it after seeing the shards of plastic.

Seet said that it was hard to notice the plastic while the baos were still frozen, as both the bao's skin and the plastic were white, but it became more obvious once the baos were cooked and their skin turned translucent.

When Seet alerted FairPrice about the incident, the company said that they would send someone down to collect the product and investigate.

They collected it on the morning of Mar. 21.

Second time

Still intent on enjoying some xiao long baos, Seet placed another order for another packet, which also arrived on Mar. 21.

But she was once again let down.

She said that when she cut open the second packet, she discovered that the plastic tray was also broken, causing her to become "sian again".

"I didn't bother to cook it of course," Seet said, adding that she also lodged another complaint to FairPrice about this second incident.

She suggested they recall the product so that other customers would not face a similar situation.

Product temporarily suspended

Responding to Mothership's queries, a spokesperson for FairPrice Group said that the company is committed to ensuring the health and safety of their customers, and takes any food-related concerns "very seriously".

They said that FairPrice has initiated a "thorough investigation into the matter", and has temporarily suspended the sale of the product as a precautionary measure.

"We have reached out to the affected customer to provide a refund and address any concerns they may have. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will work to resolve this issue promptly," they added.

Related story

Top images from Jane Alethea Seet