Starbucks says 'dead cockroach' found in egg white wrap is harmless plant fibre

The dead cockroach was found stuck on a mushroom slice. PHOTO: JOELLE GOH/FACEBOOK

SINGAPORE- Coffee chain Starbucks has refuted claims by a customer that one of its food items contained a cockroach.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, a spokesperson for Starbucks said on Friday that independent tests had confirmed that the strands of what appeared to be insect feelers found in a wrap were "fibres of an un-harmful plant nature".

Joelle Goh, who said she bought a Egg White, Roasted Pepper, Mushroom & Cheddar Wrap from the 100 AM outlet in Tanjong Pagar, wrote on Starbucks' Facebook page on Thursday: " I found a dead cockroach (whole) stuck onto one of the mushroom slices. "

She added that a Starbucks employee had apologised for the incident and said that the food was prepared by Starbucks' supplier.

Starbucks said it immediately pulled the remaining wraps with the same production date from its shelves even though it was an isolated incident.

In its response, it also said: "Our Quality Assurance team has also conducted a site audit at our supplier's facility and we can confirm that the food preparation process meets local stipulated regulations and guidelines."

"We have reached out directly to apologise and to explain the situation to the customer."

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