Pancake restaurant apologises for serving smoothie with blended glass pieces in it

SINGAPORE - Make-your-own-pancakes chain Slappy Cakes has apologised after serving customers a smoothie that had glass pieces in it on Sunday (Nov 17).

In response to queries from The Straits Times, a spokesman explained in a statement on Tuesday (Nov 19) that a member of its staff had accidentally broken a glass while making the smoothie. Although she cleared the broken glass pieces on the floor, she did not realise that a piece had fallen in the blender used to prepare the smoothie.

The spokesman added that the staff member has been moved out of the drinks station and that the restaurant will monitor her performance and decide on the next appropriate course of action.

The chain, which is under TungLok Group and has two other outlets at The Grandstand and Resorts World Sentosa, also said that it had thoroughly cleaned the restaurant and conducted a training session with operations staff where it stressed its standard operating procedures.

The Singapore Food Agency said on Monday (Nov 18) that it is investigating the matter.

The incident occurred on Sunday (Nov 17), when the Wu family visited the outlet at about 4.30pm.

The family had been to Slappy Cakes twice before, and the children, aged five, seven and eight, enjoyed making their own pancakes.

On Sunday, they ordered a berry smoothie to go with their pancakes.

When the drink arrived, the mother, who wanted to be known only as Madam Wu, took a sip and found it rather "grainy".

The 45-year-old told ST: "At first I thought maybe (the grains were) part of the fruit or ice, but I couldn't bite (through them). To my horror, when I spat them out, they were transparent little pieces of glass."

She immediately told her children to stop drinking the smoothie, but her seven-year-old son had already swallowed some of it.

The civil servant said: "My heart sank when he said that he'd drank it. I knew he had to be taken to the hospital."

A few hours after drinking the smoothie, the boy complained of pain in his throat, she said.

Her husband drove the family to a hospital, where Madam Wu and her son remain warded for observation.

Madam Wu said that when she first approached the restaurant staff about the issue, "They tried to brush it off and said it was the supplier's fault, and that (the suppliers) are sometimes negligent."

In its statement, Slappy Cakes clarified that it does not take the incident lightly, and said staff interviews and closed-circuit television footage showed its staff bowing to the family in apology several times. The family's bill was also waived.

The restaurant added that its management had visited the family in hospital on Monday afternoon (Nov 18).

"We deeply regret the incident and offer our sincerest apologies to Mr and Mrs Wu and their family. We will continue to provide them with any assistance required," said the spokesman.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.