Insect-infused drinks may be all the rage with their supposed nutritional benefits and whatnot, but there is still a line to be drawn.
After all, there’s a clear difference between an immunity-boosting scorpion drink and a cockroach-based herbal drink.
And yes, I’m talking about the sheer audacity of the latter.
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Netizen Found Cockroach in Herbal Drink from Hockhua Tonic; Company Has Since Responded
According to TODAYonline, a cockroach has been found in a bottle of Hockhua Tonic herbal tea.
It was not an intentional move on their part.
According to the news report, a Facebook user named Soon Hooi had posted a video of a sealed bottle of barley drink… which would have been entirely normal had there not been an extra guest in the mixture:
A cockroach.
For the record, cockroaches are said to be even more nutritional than your protein shake. But in this particular case, that’s really beside the point.
Suffice to say; the issue soon went viral, and the Sengkang outlet has since apologised for the literal mix-up.
“My outlet manager has apologised and refunded (the money) to her,” said Hockhua Tonic’s general manager James Teo.
Malpractice
Apparently, the company has a standard procedure: wash the bottles and bottle the respective drinks instantaneously.
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For the Sengkang outlet, however, workers practised a slightly different version.
According to the news report, they washed a batch of bottles the night before, and only bottled them the next morning.
In the meantime, random Xiao Qiangs might have found the empty items a tad bit too irresistible.
“We suspect the cockroach might have gotten into this empty bottle,” Mr Teo said.
“We sincerely apologise for this incident and will step up… procedures to prevent recurrence,” Mr Teo said.
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Apparently, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has caught wind of the event, and is now conducting investigations.
They will take due action if necessary.
“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.”
Cockroaches
It appears that this is not the first time a cockroach had guest-starred in a food-themed ‘reality show’.
Back in December 2020, a man allegedly found a cockroach in his ban mian from a stall in Yishun.
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He had taken around “six to seven bites” when he discovered a “six-legged insect” in the bowl of noodles.
He claimed that he screamed and threw up after the recovery, and felt unwell and traumatised for the entire day.
The stall eventually closed down, even though SFA says they did not “detect any infringements of our food safety and hygiene requirements during (the) inspection”.
On a more light-hearted note, you can click here for some additional info on cockroaches.
Featured Image: TikTok (uncoversixtyfive)
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