Fungus, worms found in cake at Porur bakery, food safety officials investigate

CHENNAI: Customers at a bakery in Porur on Sunday were shocked to see fungus and worms in a cake served to them. Though they raised a complaint to the employees, the latter failed to give an explanation.

The customer noticed the fungus in the cake after his pregnant wife consumed a piece of it. He showed the cake to the staff at the bakery and demanded an explanation.

While the staff said that it was an error, the customer found that other food items were on display without the manufacturing, storage and expiry details. “My wife is pregnant, and we’ve spent so much money on her medical care. And now, there’s a possibility she could fall sick because of their carelessness. Who is responsible is she falls sick after consuming this food? The Food Safety Department should take strict action on this. All stores that sell bakery items should be instructed regarding this,” the customer said.

Meanwhile, officials from the Food Safety Department said that the issue was being investigated and action would be taken accordingly. “Food items should not be sold without a manufacturing date and expiration date. We’ve received the consumer’s complaint and an inspection of the food items sold at the store is being done. The manufacturing, storage, packaging and sale of the food items should be as per the Food Safety and Standards Authority parameters or a penalty will be issued against the store,” said the city-designated food safety officer.