Retailer Milking Cow probed by SFA after claims of glass and bugs found in food products

One customer said she found stones in a packet of oats and plastic shards in two bottles of avocado juice (left), while another said she found a bug in her oats. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF IRENA SOH AND SONIA TEO

SINGAPORE - Several complaints have been lodged with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) after claims that glass and bugs were found in a local retailer's food products meant for consumption by lactating mothers.

The allegations are against Milking Cow, which specialises in producing oats, smoothies and muffins that the company touts help new mothers increase the quantity and quality of their breast milk.

SFA said on Monday (Sept 23) that it is investigating the complaints.

The Straits Times understands that the food agency conducted an inspection of Milking Cow's kitchen last Thursday.

The investigation comes after piano teacher Irena Soh claimed on Facebook last Thursday that she found stones in a packet of oats and plastic shards in two bottles of avocado juice bought from Milking Cow.

Since then, the mother's post has encouraged other Milking Cow customers with similar experiences to voice their complaints, including one who said she found glass blades in her oats.

Ms Soh, 30, told ST: "I was shocked to hear that so many others also had bad experiences with Milking Cow. I had already drunk some of the juice so I was worried about my baby's health."

The mother is breastfeeding her two-month-old child.

Another customer, Ms Sonia Teo, 32, told ST that she found a bug in her oats and was concerned about her family consuming any affected products.

In screenshots of text messages seen by ST, Milking Cow offered these customers full refunds for affected products. It also requested to collect the goods back from the complainants so that the products could be sent for checks to prevent similar incidents from happening.

In Ms Teo's case, Milking Cow told her it needed the jar of oats back so that the insect said to be in it could be identified, and that the pest control company the retailer contracted could be notified.

Milking Cow reiterated that all its products are produced in an SFA-approved kitchen, and that it will seek to improve its hygiene processes.

In a Facebook post last Thursday, Milking Cow apologised to its customers and said it is fully cooperating with SFA's investigations.

It also offered full refunds to any of its customers with pending orders, saying it fully understood if people were uncomfortable with its products after Ms Soh's post made the rounds on the Internet.

ST has contacted Milking Cow for comment.

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