‘It won’t affect you’: Woman shocked by rat in bread response [video]
A Durban woman has shared her horrific discovery of a dead rat baked into a loaf of Sasko bread she had purchased.
According to another consumer, this is not the first time it has occurred with the same brand.
WOMAN FINDS RAT IN LOAF OF BREAD
On Facebook, Nombulelo Mkumla shared her horrific experience of finding a dead rat in a loaf of Sasko brown bread.
The woman claims she purchased the bread from her local Spar in Durban.
Reflecting on what happened next, she posted: “I took the bread out of the fridge to make toast and noticed something disgusting and scary. I took a picture and sent it to my friends, and one of them said, ‘That’s a rat friend.’
“I was in denial and suggested it might be something else, but the rat scenario made sense – it’s possible the rat got into the bread at the factory, and no one noticed.
Nombulelo claims the retailer advised her to contact the supplier – Pioneer Foods, which owns Sasko, directly.
After initially claiming it was “mould,” Pioneer foods conceded that it was a rat, which had been baked in the bread.
Their “apology” left the woman shocked and disturbed.
“[He said] ‘It shouldn’t have happened, but you must understand that it gets hot where we bake our products, so things like this are bound to happen. ‘We are putting measures in place to prevent this from happening again.
The Sasko representative added: “Don’t worry; it won’t affect you health-wise,”
Nombulelo added: “This apology made me angrier. Are you a professional doctor? I doubt I will ever eat Sasko bread again. This experience has been traumatic and disgusting!”
“I recently bought bread from Spar (Sasko bread) on August 27th. The same day, I made toast after work and ate the bread. The following day, after work, I did the same thing. Then, on the morning of August 31st, I took the bread out of the fridge to make toast and noticed something disgusting and scary. I took a picture and sent it to my friends, and one of them said, ‘Yi mpuku leyo tshomi’ (‘That’s a rat friend’). I was in denial and suggested it might be something else, but the rat scenario made sense – it’s possible the rat got into the bread at the factory, and no one noticed.
I went to Spar with the bread, and they advised me to lay a complaint with their supplier directly and gave me the contacts. I sent an email with a video and pictures of the bread to the supplier (Pioneer Foods) on Saturday, August 31st. Someone responded by email, acknowledging receipt of my email on Monday the 2nd of September, and filled out a form stating that the bread had mold. Why would I make a fuss over mold? I responded and gave my description of the complaint.
Then, no one said anything until Friday afternoon, September 7th, when a guy from Sasko called me. ‘Ma’am, I am… from Sasko. I am calling regarding your recent experience with our product. I sincerely apologize for what happened to you. It shouldn’t have happened, but you must understand that it gets hot where we bake our products, so things like this are bound to happen.’ Yes, I admit that your bread had a mouse/rat. We are putting measures in place to prevent this from happening again. Don’t worry; it won’t affect you health-wise.
This apology made me angrier. Instead of saying sorry, they told me to understand that it gets hot where they bake, and that’s why there was a rat in my bread! Are you a professional doctor? I doubt I will ever eat Sasko products again. This experience has been traumatic and disgusting!”
Posted by Nombulelo Mkumla on Sunday 8 September 2024
NO RESPONSE FROM SASKO – YET
The South African reached out to Pioneer Foods for an official response; however, no response has been received.
On the X app, the official account of Sasko South Africa responded to another consumer, who claims they also discovered the remnants of a rodent in their bread back in 2020.
X user @GhettoSoldeir tweeted: “I experienced the same thing with @SaskoSA bread in 2020 and tweeted about it. Sasko didn’t respond…so we have been eating rats this whole time. It’s time to boycott”.
The X account promised to “DM” the person with a response.
HAVE YOU EVER FOUND SOMETHING DISTURBING IN YOUR FOOD?
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