S'porean man finds 12.5cm 'metal bar' in Lotte snack, SFA investigating

A 27-year-old Singaporean man bought a box of Lotte Pepero almond stick biscuits from a shop in Bedok Reservoir on Mar. 15, 2025.

However, when he tore open the packet the next day, he was shocked to find a 12.5 cm metal object inside.

Initially, the man, who wished to be known only as JY, thought that the metal bar was a collectable or a toy, but he quickly realised that it was not owing to its shape and condition.

JY has since reported the incident to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and Lotte Confectionery (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd, the stick biscuits' distributor.

He turned to the media as he hoped to publicise his encounter to raise awareness of food safety.

Lotte offered JY snacks, kept him abreast of investigation findings

Speaking to Mothership, JY said he appreciated Lotte Confectionery's "timely and responsible response" following his feedback.

According to him, when he first contacted the company on Mar. 20, it "responded swiftly and professionally".

Over the next four days, Lotte Confectionery collected the product from him and "launched an internal investigation together with its Korean headquarters", as the product is manufactured in Korea.

Additionally, representatives from Lotte Confectionery met up with JY and offered him snacks.

On Mar. 25, JY was informed that the company's Korean counterparts had concluded that the object was "a detached iron partition from the production line's counter hopper".

"They identified the root cause, declared it as an isolated incident, and implemented procedural and engineering improvements," recounted JY.

When asked whether he would still buy from Lotte again after the incident, JY said he would not be boycotting the brand, given its "quick response and good attitude" throughout their correspondence.

"However, this incident did make me double-check packaged food, especially snacks, from then on," he added.

JY said he reported the incident to SFA on Mar. 16 and received a reply three days later, and was requested to supply additional information.

Lotte statement

In response to Mothership's queries, Lotte Confectionery confirmed that the incident had occurred after "a machine part was inadvertently mixed into a product due to a human error".

"After a thorough investigation, we have determined that this was an isolated case, and there is no possibility that the same issue has occurred with any other products," read the statement.

Additionally, Lotte has also "established preventive measures" and "further strengthened worker supervision and quality inspections" to ensure the incident will not happen again.

Lotte Confectionery added that it had provided "a full explanation of the cause of the issue and its improvement measures" to both JY and SFA.

"We sincerely apologise for the concern caused by this lapse in management, and we will do our utmost to provide safe and reliable food products through even more rigorous quality control," said Lotte Confectionery.

The company also confirmed that it offered assorted snacks to JY, adding that it was "a gesture of goodwill and to acknowledge the financial and emotional distress" caused to him, who placed his trust in the Lotte brand.

Lotte Confectionery added that the incident is currently under investigation by SFA, and it is "fully cooperating" with the process.

SFA investigating

The Singapore Food Agency confirmed with Mothership that it is looking into the matter.

The agency also emphasised that food safety is "a joint responsibility":

"While SFA puts in place and enforces the regulatory measures, food business operators must play their part to ensure the safety of the food that is sold to the public."

Members of the public who have concerns about the safety of food products can report to the agency online here.

SFA added that it takes "a serious view" towards food safety and will investigate all feedback alleging poor food safety practices.

"As part of the enquiry and gathering of evidence, SFA may engage the feedback provider for more details and will not hesitate to take enforcement action if sufficient evidence has been obtained," added the agency.

Top images via JY