Man claims HarbourFront bakery asked for 'private settlement' after he finds 'baby cockroach' in box of cake

It was a birthday cake which came with an added 'surprise'.

A man has claimed that he found a small cockroach in a box containing a whole cake he'd bought from a Four Leaves outlet in HarbourFront Centre, according to a post made on Facebook group Complaint Singapore on Tuesday (June 11).

The user, Jeff Soh, said that he had bought a Chocolate Classico cake from the bakery chain on Sunday (June 9) at around 5pm.

He placed the cake in the fridge when he reached home, taking it out around 8pm for a birthday celebration.

"However, to our horror, we found a dead baby cockroach lying on the cake board and next to the cake," he wrote.

Soh called the bakery's HarbourFront outlet to inform them about the issue and was contacted by the store's manager Daniel about an hour later.

"[Daniel] was more interested to know how the cockroach came about and to arrange to retrieve the 'evidence'," Soh wrote.

He claimed that the manager sought to settle the matter privately, "without offering any remedial actions".

Wrote Soh: "He was also suggesting to go for a private settlement and not alert the relevant agency."

Soh indicated that he later contacted the company's management to request for a refund but was allegedly rejected, "as [he had] reported the incident to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) on June 10".

Responding to queries from AsiaOne, SFA has said that they are looking into the matter.

"Food safety is a joint responsibility," the agency stated. "While SFA puts in place and enforces the regulatory measures, food operators must play their part by adhering to good food hygiene and preparation practices. Food operators should also ensure their premises are clean and well-maintained."

As part of the enquiry and gathering of evidence, SFA stated that they may also speak with Soh for more details and "will not hesitate" to take enforcement action if sufficient evidence has been obtained.

AsiaOne has reached out to Soh and Four Leaves for more information.

ALSO READ: Man finds cockroach in tea, gets rejected after requesting for replacement

khooyihang@asiaone.com