Wingstop says 'fried cockroach' in chicken at The Clementi Mall was 'positively identified' as fried mushroom stem
A TikTok user had visited The Clementi Mall outlet with her brother, and had taken to the platform to share a post about the incident.
UPDATE: Wingstop has said that its investigation identified the object as a fried mushroom stem.
SINGAPORE — A user on TikTok allegedly found a dead 'fried cockroach' in her six-piece boneless chicken meal from Wingstop at The Clementi Mall.
In a photo post on Monday (1 April), the user said she had visited the outlet with her brother. Upon discovering the cockroach, she proceeded to the counter to lodge a complaint, and was given one piece of boneless chicken as compensation.
In response to queries, Wingstop told Yahoo Southeast Asia on Tuesday (2 April) that it was aware of the incident, and identified the 'fried cockroach' to actually be a fried mushroom stem.
How Wingstop identified the 'fried cockroach' as a piece of fried mushroom stem
After an investigation by the outlet's management, the item was found to be "the size of a small date seed" with a "soft texture". The team had torn the piece apart carefully and removed the breading to identify the "foreign object".
"We believe that the mushroom stem could have broken off from a previous order of mushroom fritters (one of the sides served at Wingstop). As both our boneless wings and mushroom fritters are battered in the same flour mixture, it is highly likely that a broken off mushroom stem was accidentally fried and coated together with the same sauce as the 6 piece boneless wings that the customer had," said Wingstop.
The restaurant chain sent over photos to confirm the findings from the investigation, and added that the customer "might have mistaken the stem as a cockroach".
Wingstop has since reached out to the customer separately to apologise for the misunderstanding and distress caused.
It said the customer has "since graciously accepted the apology for the false alarm and the unfortunate circumstances".
"We wish to assure the public that we take food safety very seriously at Wingstop and we appreciate this opportunity to provide clarifications about this incident."
Earlier, responding to queries from Yahoo Southeast Asia, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said on 2 April that it is looking into the matter.
Members of the public who have concerns about food safety practices by food operators should report it to the SFA via the online feedback form. Thereafter, the agency may engage the feedback provider for more details.
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