"Desiccant Granules Found Inside Department Store Bread Eaten with 33-Month-Old Daughter"

Mr. A: "Bakery company representative told me to propose an amount without apology... It sounded like 'How much will it take for you to shut up?'"

Desiccant found in bread from a famous bakery. Photo provided to Yonhap News by customer A.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] A controversy has arisen as a desiccant was found inside bread purchased from a famous bakery located in a major domestic department store, and the affected customer claims that the company attempted to silence her instead of offering a proper apology.

According to a report by Yonhap News on the 23rd, Ms. A, a woman in her 40s living in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, purchased watermelon bread, banana bread, and strawberry bread from a bakery located in a department store near her home last week.

After returning home, Ms. A fed about two-thirds of the bread to her 33-month-old daughter and was eating the remaining portion when she felt something foreign and spat out the bread. According to Ms. A, the bread contained desiccant granules that appeared to have burst out from the plastic packaging.

Ms. A immediately complained to the department store the next day and received an apology from the person in charge of food and beverages. However, Ms. A claims that the bakery representative who called her afterward did not offer a proper apology and instead asked, "How much do you want?" implying she should first state the amount. Ms. A expressed her anger, saying, "It sounded like 'How much will it take to shut you up?'"

The department store acknowledged the mistake, stating that the desiccant likely got into the bread during the kneading and baking process, and conveyed their apologies. They also said that representatives from the department store and bakery personally visited Ms. A to apologize and are discussing compensation measures.

However, Ms. A opposed this, saying, "The department store and bakery offered 500,000 won as compensation and said that if I refuse, it will be handled through insurance, which could reduce the amount," adding, "The apology lacks sincerity, and the compensation is inadequate."

She further explained the situation, saying, "I trusted the bakery because it was located in a department store, but it seems they do not understand the seriousness of the situation," and added that she has reported the incident to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Hwaseong-si National Complaint Center.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.