Shakey’s issues statement after ‘plastic in pizza’ incident

MANILA, Philippines – Shakey’s Philippines has issued an apology after a viral video by news anchor Julius Babao showed a piece of plastic inside one of the chain’s thin-crust pizzas.

On Sunday, August 7, Babao posted a pizza unboxing video on his public Facebook page, pointing out a circular piece of plastic in between the pizza’s cheese topping and dough.

“Look @shakeysph yung Pizza na inorder namin may PLASTIC!!!! Buti di namin nakain (Good thing we didn’t eat it),” he wrote, also tagging the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in his caption. In his narration, he told everyone to “stay careful,” while also unboxing the other pizza boxes to check if they were fine, which they were.

On Monday, August 8, Shakey’s Philippines released an official statement on Facebook addressing Babao, apologizing for the “oversight” regarding his pizza delivery order from one of their stores, and thanking him for calling their attention. “We acknowledge that we made a mistake, and we will take this opportunity to learn and do better,” they wrote.

They said that they take feedback very seriously from all guests, and as they would with any guest complaint, they immediately reached out to Mr. Babao to initiate corrective action.

“His household graciously accepted re-delivery and replacement of his order today as per standard procedure. We acknowledge Mr. Babao’s concern for our staff and appreciate his kind consideration,” Shakey’s wrote.

Regarding the incident, Shakey’s explained that their freshly-made pizza crusts are placed with a food-grade glassine sheet that separates pizza crusts and prevents them from sticking when stacked.

“Unfortunately, one of our team members failed to remove the sheet prior to adding cheese and toppings. We are currently undergoing a thorough and fair investigation to understand exactly what transpired in this isolated and unique incident,” Shakey’s added. They also thanked their guests for their understanding and showing empathy and support during this time, while also reassuring everyone that “quality, safety, and guest satisfaction” are of utmost importance.

“Rest assured that we take this as an opportunity to reinforce our training, systems, and procedures to prevent incidents like his from happening again to any of our guests,” Shakey’s said. – Rappler.com