https://stomp.straitstimes.com/singapore-seen/pieces-of-plastic-in-angus-beef-from-master-grocer-sfa-finds-lapses-will-take
Customer finds pieces of plastic in Angus beef from Master Grocer, SFA to take enforcement action
The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) will take enforcement action against gourmet meat seller Master Grocer after a customer found pieces of plastic in one of its products.
Stomper Anonymous had ordered a 500g pack of Australia Black Angus Lean Minced Beef along with other items from Master Grocer via Shopee on March 16.
"While cooking, I found pieces of plastic in the beef – both in the portion I’d eaten and the rest I inspected," said the Stomper who was "shocked and worried" about what he had ingested.
"I contacted Master Grocer, expecting accountability. Instead, they demanded I return every last bit of the order, including what I’d already consumed, before they’d even consider a refund.
"No sincere apology, no partial compensation – just an impossible condition they blamed on 'Shopee policy'."
The Stomper also reported it to SFA.
In response to a Stomp query, a spokesperson for Master Grocer said: "Due to our company policy, complaint usually comply internal product itself or external packaging so we offer all complaint customer a full refund on entire order or product itself, therefore we required to collect back the entire product for deep investigation from either internal/external or both parties.
"As regards to this customer who had made his order through Shopee platform and didn't press refund through the platform but demanded $500 with full refund on his orders and as we are unable to collect back the product for further investigation from customer, so we are not able to process a full refund directly instead through Shopee platform.
"We understand that our response may be disappointing and we want to assure the customer that our intention is not to dismiss their concerns but to ensure fairness and accuracy in addressing all claims are genuine so we could improve our food safety or practices in all aspects."
Regarding Master Grocer's response, the Stomper explained: "Due to the bad experience, I requested $500 worth of vouchers/cash for future use. However, it was rejected and they would only refund me if I returned the entire order or the item that was affected after me telling them that I had eaten the rest...
"Additionally, the refund button is no longer available to me to 'press' in the Shopee platform."
As for the plastic pieces in th meat, the Master Grocer spokesperson said: "Upon learning of the issue, we immediately initiated a thorough investigation on the production processes, quality control measures, and the specific product batch in question from the customer claims.
"After gathering all relevant details, we can confirm that we have not received any prior reports of similar incidents related to this product.
"As part of our ongoing efforts, we are working very closely with the SFA involved to resolve this customer complaints and public concerns, and based on our findings, we regret to inform that there weren’t any findings from customer claims as our quality control processes are stringent.
"But nevertheless, we will take additional steps to further strengthen our food safety protocols to prevent such occurrences in the future."
On March 22, the Stomper shared an email from SFA.
The email said: "Investigations have been completed and food safety lapses were observed during our inspection at licensed premise. We will be taking enforcement actions against the licensee.
"You can proceed to dispose or continue with intended refund with company if required."
The Stomper added: "This could be a wake-up call for consumers and a chance to hold vendors accountable."
Stomp has contacted SFA for more info.
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