Sushiro in Hong Kong says it's suing customers after boy seen licking its condiment tongs

A video of a child licking a pair of communal tongs for condiments at a Sushiro sushi restaurant in Sha Tin, Hong Kong has sparked outrage regarding food hygiene and the lack of parenting skills exhibited by some.

The clip was uploaded to Threads on Tuesday, Feb. 4 evening, according to The Standard.

Boy licked tongs, adults did nothing apparently

The scene was described as a boy kneeling on a seat with his shoes on, while licking a small food tong meant for dishing out pickled ginger from a container.

The child was seen with adults at the table, who appeared nonchalant.

The adults, who were having their meal, did not stop the child, and the tongs then fell to the ground.

The video did not show what happened after the tongs were dropped.

It was unclear if the tongs were cleaned or removed or put back into the pickled ginger container.

Sushiro to sue

Sushiro has since said it plans to pursue legal action against some of its customers, South China Morning Post subsequently reported.

It identified the location of the outlet as the one at Sha Tin New Town Plaza.

Sushiro published a statement on social media addressing the issue and expressing its concerns hours after the video made its rounds.

Sushiro said on Instagram and Facebook pages on Feb. 5 that the incident has severely damaged the brand's image, Marketing Interactive reported.

It also expressed its strong condemnation, saying it will pursue relevant legal action.

The store has removed all ginger slices and disinfected all ginger containers and tongs as a result.

To avoid similar incidents in the future, Sushiro is also considering changing how ginger is served in Hong Kong

“Sushiro will continue to uphold its image as the leading conveyor belt sushi brand in Japan, strictly implementing quality control measures for food production to ensure that all food and utensils meet hygiene standards, while continuing to provide a pleasant dining experience for customers,” it added.

Similar incident in Japan

A similar incident occurred in Japan in February 2023.

A Japanese youth was filmed licking a soy sauce bottle and a cup in a Sushiro outlet in Japan as part of a prank.

Sushiro responded by removing its condiments and sushi from its conveyor belts.

Its stock price fell and wiped out about ¥16.8 billion (S$171 million) in value in the wake of the incident.

Sushiro then sued the youth for 67 million yen (S$645,000) in damages.

Top photo via Instagram Threads