Imagine entering a convenience store and the first thing you notice is a rat near the fresh food section. Not a sight you want to see, right?
7-Eleven is currently under fire for the lack of hygiene in their stores, as a photo of a rodent in one of their food warmers has gone viral. The incident happened on 2nd January at their Kelana Centre Point branch.
The photo showed a rat crawling on a tray of food, which comprised of hot dogs, fish balls, and other fresh food. We are not sure where the post originated from, but various Facebook pages have re-uploaded the photos along with messages of caution to the public.
We’re sure the question on everyone’s mind is, “How did the rat manage to get into the enclosed space?” We don’t have an answer to that, but it seems like 7-Eleven is aware of the issue and is conducting an internal investigation.
In a statement released on their official Facebook page, the convenience store chain assured customers that their safety and well-being are of utmost importance, and also sincerely apologised for the unfortunate incident.
Their full statement reads:
“7-Eleven Malaysia takes note of the pest incident which occurred at 7-Eleven Kelana Centre Point on 2nd January 2017 and we would like to sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers. We have immediately conducted our own internal investigations as well as cooperated with the Health Ministry office for the district of Petaling on the matter and please be assured, this is an isolated incident as we have certified quality assurance audits and regular pest control steps in place to prevent such occurrences.
The safety and well-being of our customers are of the utmost importance to us and we would like to reiterate that 7-Eleven Malaysia ensures that all of our food products are of the highest quality and produced hygienically in an approved and audited facility(s).
Once again, we would like to apologise and sincerely thank our customers for your patience and understanding whilst we take further corrective actions to prevent such an incident from occurring again.”
7-Eleven also urged the public to contact them at marketing@7eleven.com.my if they have any questions.
This is not the first incident highlighting the poor level of hygiene in food places in Malaysia. In October 2016, Komugi, a Japanese pastry franchise, came under fire as a rat was found crawling on a tray of freshly-baked breads in their Mid Valley outlet.
Sources: 7-Eleven’s Facebook Page, Arun Ponan’s Facebook Page.
