Flour Dough on Nose and Kisses... Hygiene Terror by Employee at Malaysian Chain Store

An employee at the Malaysia branch of the pretzel chain brand 'Antie Ants' was caught engaging in unsanitary behavior with flour dough. [Source=Instagram]

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A video showing an employee playing with flour dough at a famous franchise chain in Malaysia has sparked controversy.

Recently, on social networking services (SNS) such as Facebook and Instagram, a video was posted showing a female employee in the kitchen of a global pretzel chain 'Auntie Anne's' at a branch in Kuala Lumpur kissing the flour dough. She lowered her mask below her chin, sniffed the dough several times with her nose, and brought it to her mouth, displaying unhygienic behavior. She also kneaded the dough with her bare hands without wearing gloves.

The video quickly spread online and received harsh criticism from netizens. As the controversy grew, Auntie Anne's Malaysia responded, "After becoming aware of the incident, we immediately terminated the employee," and expressed an apology along with the statement, "Everyone is striving to maintain the highest level of hygiene and safety. We do not tolerate unhygienic behavior." It is also reported that the branch in the video announced it would suspend operations for a certain period for store disinfection and cleaning.

Meanwhile, Auntie Anne's is a pretzel specialty chain brand from the United States, which started operations in Pennsylvania in 1988 and currently operates over 1,500 branches worldwide. It entered the domestic market by opening its first store in Lotte World, Songpa-gu, Seoul, in 2001.

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