Sasko has distanced itself from a post from a “fake account” that claimed nearly 200,000 loaves had been recalled following a third person’s discovery of a dead rat in their bread.
The woman – from Johannesburg – claims she made the gruesome discovery in a recent purchase.
Earlier this week, the bakery – which falls under Pioneer Foods – came under fire over another viral clip of a Durban woman who shared her experience on Facebook.
In 2020, another social media user claimed the brand “ignored” them after they discovered a rodent in their baked goods.
SASKO CLAIMS IT HAS NOT RECALLED ANY PRODUCTS
In a statement issued on Facebook, Sasko claimed that a fake TikTok account using their name had falsely claimed that 180 000 loaves of bread had recently been recalled.
The fake account – which had commented under TikTok user @andile_13 – has since been reported and deleted.
However, Sasko did not publicly comment on the authenticity of the viral clip of the Johannesburg woman.
Instead, it responded that it was “addressing the matter” directly with the consumer.
Earlier this week, Sasko responded to a Durban woman who claimed she found a dead rat in the slices of her bread.
“I recently bought bread from Spar (Sasko bread) on August 27th. The same day, I made toast after work and ate the bread. The following day, after work, I did the same thing. Then, on the morning of August 31st, I took the bread out of the fridge to make toast and noticed something disgusting and scary. I took a picture and sent it to my friends, and one of them said, ‘Yi mpuku leyo tshomi’ (‘That’s a rat friend’). I was in denial and suggested it might be something else, but the rat scenario made sense – it’s possible the rat got into the bread at the factory, and no one noticed.
I went to Spar with the bread, and they advised me to lay a complaint with their supplier directly and gave me the contacts. I sent an email with a video and pictures of the bread to the supplier (Pioneer Foods) on Saturday, August 31st. Someone responded by email, acknowledging receipt of my email on Monday the 2nd of September, and filled out a form stating that the bread had mold. Why would I make a fuss over mold? I responded and gave my description of the complaint.
Then, no one said anything until Friday afternoon, September 7th, when a guy from Sasko called me. ‘Ma’am, I am… from Sasko. I am calling regarding your recent experience with our product. I sincerely apologize for what happened to you. It shouldn’t have happened, but you must understand that it gets hot where we bake our products, so things like this are bound to happen.’ Yes, I admit that your bread had a mouse/rat. We are putting measures in place to prevent this from happening again. Don’t worry; it won’t affect you health-wise.
This apology made me angrier. Instead of saying sorry, they told me to understand that it gets hot where they bake, and that’s why there was a rat in my bread! Are you a professional doctor? I doubt I will ever eat Sasko products again. This experience has been traumatic and disgusting!”
Posted by Nombulelo Mkumla on Sunday 8 September 2024
OFFICIAL SASKO STATEMENT
Posted by SASKO on Friday 13 September 2024
In a statement, the company claimed it was an “isolated incident.” However, they vowed to launch an investigation and halt production until they were satisfied with their finding.
In 2020, an X user, @GhettoSoldeir, claimed that they had also found a dead rat in their bread.
The account retweeted the images again this week, adding: “Sasko didn’t respond…so we have been eating rats this whole time. It’s time to boycott Sasko. This is bad”.
THIRD CONSUMER REPORTEDLY FINDS RAT IN BREAD
On Wednesday, TikToker @andile_13 shared her harrowing account of discovering the remnants of what she believed was a dead rat in her loaf of Sasko white bread.
Andile claims she had purchased the bread at a Spar in Leondale in Johannesburg
Unluckily for the woman – whose location was set to Ekhuruleni – the rodent was found in the last few slices of the load, meaning she had digested much of the bread before the discovery.
@andilemalope_13 #saskobread 😭💔kanti whats going on with sasko @Nkuli @delimalope ♬ original sound – andile_13
In another video, which has amassed more than half a million views, Andile shared a reaction video of her mother discovering the loaf of Sasko bread.
The elderly woman looked visibly repulsed.
@andilemalope_13 😭💔😂😂😂😂my mothers reaction when seeing the bread #saskobread ♬ original sound – ikaaaaa
When one follower asked if she had “lied” about her experience, the woman responded: “I definitely do not have time to lie about a big brand on social media.”
DO YOU BELIEVE THE SASKO INCIDENTS ARE ‘ISOLATED’ CASES?
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