Pret A Manger apologises after saying pork sausage breakfast pots on sale at flagship store were vegetarian
The problem was spotted when an office worker tucked in to what she thought was a veggie pot, only to find it contained pork bangers
PRET has apologised after flogging a batch of pork sausage breakfasts as veggie at its UK flagship store.
An office worker told how she tucked in to what she thought was a vegetarian breakfast pot, only to find it contained pork bangers.
The life-long veggie returned the pot to the store where staff apologised and gave her a replacement.
But when she got back to her office the 25-year-old discovered the new pot also contained meat.
The under-fire snack chain has apologised and admitted that a whole batch could have been affected and has “re-trained” the staff responsible.
The woman, who asked not to be named, told The Sun: “The first time it happened I thought it could just be a fluke but when it happened again I was appalled.
“This is a big company, they should have proper checking processes.
“I am a life-long veggie, who has never knowingly eaten meat but imagine if I could not eat meat or pork on religious grounds.”
The customer said the sausages were at the bottom on the pot, covered by beans so she did not immediately notice them.
When she went back to the shop in Victoria, central London an assistant apologised and got her a new breakfast from the shelf.
But when the worker got back to her office she noticed it again contained sausages.
She added: “It was obviously the whole batch that was wrong – this is a big branch in central London and you wonder just how many people have been affected.”
The woman complained to Pret’s head office and they launched an investigation following the incident on August 31.
In a response seen by The Sun, the company said: “The Safety Team has identified the members of the team who made this product that day.
“All kitchen team members have been re-trained on the existing robust production standards, which are in place to reduce the risk of cross contamination.
“Our products are always prepared separately, one batch at a time, and are labelled separately to reduce the risk of these being mixed up.
“There was clearly a break-down in these procedures that day. Please rest assured that the general and kitchen managers will be keeping a very close eye on the production process following this incident.”
The claims come after two people died from allergic reactions to Pret products.
Natasha Ednan-Laperouse collapsed on board a flight in July 2016 and later died after eating an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette she had bought at a Pret outlet in Heathrow Airport.
Celia Marsh, from Melksham, Wilts, died after eating a super-veg rainbow flatbread which was supposed to be dairy free.
A spokeswoman from Pret said: “We are very sorry for our customer’s experience, and we would like to invite her to get back in touch so we can give her the apology she deserves.”
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