From Dead rat to Human finger in Ice cream: Food contamination is a real worry

Hyderabad: From a dead rat found in Hershey's chocolate syrup to a blade-like object found in a food packet on an Air India flight, this week has been bizarre, with the shocking incidents reported in India.

For the past week, social media has been all about people questioning the food safety, especially when it comes to packed food and frozen food products.

Here is the list:

1. Dead rat in Hershey's syrup

A woman was shocked after allegedly finding a dead mouse inside the Hershey's chocolate syrup bottle that she ordered through the online delivery app Zepto. Prami Sridhar recorded the incident in a video that has gone viral, thereby prompting a response from the confectionery company. In her Instagram post, Prami said, "Shocking discovery in my Zepto order. This is for your kind notice to everyone to open your eyes." As seen in the clip, she poured syrup onto a spoon and allegedly found a few strands of hair,".

"We ordered Hershey's chocolate syrup from Zepto to eat with brownie cakes. We started pouring cakes, caught small hair continuously, and decided to open them. The opening was sealed and intact. We opened and poured in a disposable glass, and a thick and hard consistency of dead rats dropped down. By washing in running water for reconfirmation, it's a dead rat (sic.)," Prami said in her post.

To confirm if it was a dead rat, one of her family members also washed it and was shocked to see a small rat.

2. Blade-like object found in food of Air India flight

An Air India passenger claimed that a blade-like metal piece was found in his food on a Bengaluru-San Francisco flight last week, after which Tata Group-owned airline launched an investigation. Confirming the presence of a "foreign object" in the food, Air India "deeply apologised" on Monday, saying that it came from the vegetable processing machine used at the facilities of its catering partner TajSATS.

In a post on X, the passenger claimed that he felt the blade-like object only after chewing the grub for a few seconds, but luckily, no harm was done.

"Air India food can cut like a knife. Hiding in its roasted sweet potato and fig chaat was a metal piece resembling a blade. I felt it only after chewing the grub for a few seconds. Thankfully, no harm was done," the passenger, Mathures Paul, a professional journalist, said.

Paul blamed Air India's catering service, adding, "But the incident doesn't help the image I have of Air India...what if the metal piece was in the food served to a child?"

This is the second incident involving the food served on the airline's long-haul flights in recent memory. Significantly, both Air India and TajSATS are part of the steel-to-software conglomerate Tata Group.

"Air India confirms that a foreign object was found in a guest's meal aboard one of our flights. After investigation, it has been identified as coming from the vegetable processing machine used at the facilities of our catering partner," Air India Chief Customer Experience Officer Rajesh Dogra said in a statement. The airline had initiated a probe after the passenger posted about the incident on X.

3. Human finger found in Ice Cream

In yet another shocking incident, a Mumbai doctor found a human finger in Ice Cream. A police investigation found that the finger is likely that of an employee working at the Pune factory of Yummo Ice Creams. The employee suffered a finger injury in an accident, and the police suspect that the finger belongs to him.

Dr. Brendan Ferrao, a resident of Orlem in Malad, ordered three ice cream cones through an online app. Ferrao felt something in his mouth that he thought might be a "big nut". However, it turned out to be a finger with a nail on it.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has suspended the licence of the Pune-based ice cream manufacturer pending investigation.

Responding to the incident, Yummo said that they have stopped manufacturing at this third-party facility, isolated the said product at the facility and our warehouses, and are in the process of doing the same at the market level.

4. Centipede found in Amul ice cream tub

A woman in Noida found a centipede in an Amul ice cream tub she had ordered through an instant delivery app.

In a post on X on June 15, the woman, who identified herself as Deepa Devi, shared a picture showing the insect inside the ice cream tub.

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets dairy products under the Amul brand, regretted the inconvenience caused to the woman customers in Noida.

Noida's food safety department has launched a probe into this matter.

Amul said it immediately responded to the complaint on social media. "We deeply regret the inconvenience caused to her by this incident," the statement said.

Amul said its team was trying to contact the customer continuously and could meet after 9:30 pm on the same day (June 15).

"During our meeting with the customer, we requested that the customer provide the said ice cream tub for investigation. Unfortunately, the customer refused to hand it over. "Unless the complaint pack is retrieved from the customer, it would be difficult for us to investigate the matter and hence comment specifically on the issue, which involves pack and supply chain integrity," Amul said.

During the interaction, the customer was informed and assured about Amul's state-of-the-art ISO-certified plants, which are automated and pass through numerous stringent quality checks before offering any product for sale to the esteemed customers. Amul also invited the customer to visit its plant to assure her that the quality processes were being followed.

5. A dead frog 'was found in a packet of chips

A woman from Jamnagar found a dead frog in a packet of chips. Jasmeet Patel bought the chips and consumed half the previous night. However, it wasn't until the following day that Jasmeet's daughter opened the packet and was horrified to find a dead frog inside. Jasmeet Patel contacted the Jamnagar Municipal Corporation Food Branch to report the incident.

The officials who responded quickly visited her home to inspect the packet. They took samples of the contaminated chips along with other chips for testing.