'I called outlet 28 times': Woman finds cockroach in pizza from Little Caesars, gets no response from chain

While enjoying a slice of pizza, a customer suddenly spotted a baby cockroach crawling from under it. 

The angry woman, with the username Pinkcaramelpudding, took to Reddit on Thursday (Dec 14) to share her stomach-churning discovery in her pizza ordered from Little Caesars at Funan mall on Monday. 

"We completely lost our appetite," she wrote, adding that they had already eaten half of the pizza when that creepy-crawly emerged.

Pinkcaramelpudding said that she reached out to Little Caesars at the Funan outlet but "they just kept hanging up".

"I called the outlet 28 times," she added.

'It's a shame'

She added that she also tried reaching out to them via Facebook and even posted a Google review comment hoping for a response, but to no avail. 

"We gave up and stopped in the end," said Pinkcaramelpudding. "A shame because I really like the pizzas made there."

Unhappy that Little Caesars did not respond to her, she sought help from netizens on what she should do. 

"How long should I reasonably wait for their response? And who else should I contact at this point?" she asked.

Netizens flooded the comments section of her post, suggesting Pinkcaramelpudding reach out to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA).

Thanking Redditors for their suggestions, Pinkcaramelpudding updated that she has reported to SFA via their online chat function.

'No cockroaches found'

In response to AsiaOne's queries, Little Caesars said that they were notified of the incident yesterday (Dec 14) and have contacted the customer via Reddit. 

"We are communicating closely with the customer and she has accepted our apology and compensation," Little Caesars said.

The pizza chain told AsiaOne that they were unable to determine the origin of the cockroach in the pizza.

However, they shared that in their last pest control maintenance session done on Nov 23 at the Funan outlet, "the report given showed there were no cockroaches found".

Little Caesars told AsiaOne that they are currently working closely with their staff to ensure cleanliness at the outlet.

"We will continue our regular monthly pest control and constantly remind our staff to check all orders thoroughly before handing them to the other party," Little Caesars added. 

SFA looking into matter

In response to AsiaOne's queries, SFA said that they are currently looking into the matter.

"SFA takes a serious view towards food safety and will investigate all feedback alleging poor food safety practices," they added.

Following an investigation, SFA said that they will not hesitate to take enforcement action if sufficient evidence has been obtained.

Stressing the importance of food operators adhering to good food hygiene and preparation practices, SFA said: "Food operators should also ensure that their premises are clean and well maintained."

Members of the public who come across any potentially errant food operator should report to SFA via the online feedback form.

AsiaOne has reached out to Pinkcaramelpudding for comment. 

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ashwini.balan@asiaone.com