In a shocking incident in Chennai, a city-based customer found a blood-stained, used bandage in the food he had ordered through Swiggy. On Sunday, Balamurugan had placed an order from a restaurant in Selaiyur through the food aggregator. It was only after eating half his food that Balamurugan found that a used bandage had been lurking in his noodles all along.
In a Facebook post, Balamurugan communicated his disgust through vomit emojis, stating that he had ordered chicken schezwan chopsuey from a city-based restaurant and had noticed the stained bandage in it.
“Contacted restaurant and they aren't sensitive and offering replacement for the food! Who again wants to eat such contaminated food! Tried to contact Swiggy, no option to call them directly through app for already delivered food and only option is to chat but they aren't responding either! Want to badly sue both restaurant and Swiggy too for partnering with restaurant which doesn't practice general hygienic method like using hand glove or not allowing any kitchen staff with injured fingers/hands in the kitchen!” (sic) he wrote.
Speaking to TNM, Balamurugan said that he hoped to raise awareness among other regular users of the app through his post. “I'm expecting the restaurant to take corrective measures, Swiggy to fill gaps in their process of selecting partners, and also I would definitely like to ensure that I've not been infected or that I've contracted any infectious disease by way of eating that food. They have responded to my Facebook post and I was told that they will investigate and get back to me,” he said on Sunday.
While Balamurugan says he is doing fine health-wise, the response from Swiggy has been less than ideal, he says.
“There has been no specific update on the particular incident from Swiggy or the restaurant. The last update from Swiggy was that they will investigate and get back to me in a day or two,” he said on Monday.
Balamurugan also alleges that Swiggy has been continuing to take orders from the restaurant “without stopping the service for restaurant until their vendor does re-audit or quality checks.”
A statement from Swiggy in response to this article read, "We understand that consumers trust Swiggy with their health and safety, and are committed to working with restaurants to ensure that only hygienic and quality food is delivered to them. We deeply regret the issue faced by one of our users and apologise for the angst it has caused. This is certainly not the level of service we intend to promote. While the restaurant has acknowledged a lapse at its end, based on the complaint, we have suspended this outlet pending further investigation by an external agency. Swiggy conducts stringent third-party hygiene audits across our restaurant partner network- regularly, and is invested in working with them to ensure a safe and delightful food experience for our consumers."
Note: This article has been updated with Swiggy's response to the incident.