The cockroach that was found in the tandoori paneer pizza served by Smokin’ Joe’s
A Gujarati family in Santa Cruz were shocked when they found a 'half-baked' cockroach on their tandoori paneer pizza ordered from a nearby Smokin' Joe's outlet. The 22-year-old entrepreneur, who ordered the pizza, took up the matter with the outlet and has also written to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
On March 29, Rishi Shah ordered a tandoori paneer pizza from a Smokin' Joe's outlet in Santa Cruz (west), after his sister's friend had arrived for a get-together at his residence.
On opening the box, Shah found "a cockroach in the pizza which clearly looked half-baked. Like it was there since the pizza was put to bake."
"Thankfully, we spotted the cockroach. Had we consumed it accidentally, it could have caused severe health problems. We contacted the outlet manager and complained. He apologised and sent his delivery boy to check the pizza, who later took it away. We wrote to Smokin' Joe's about the incident and they too have apologised," said Shah.
An email response to Shah from the email id 'feedback@smokinjoespizza.com' stated: "We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused to you by our outlet in Santacruz (west), Mumbai. We will take up the matter with the concerned franchisee at the highest level to ensure such an incident does not occur in the future. We will also send our manager to conduct a quality audit and all other operating procedures of the outlet. Sorry again for the inconvenience." Shah added, "We have also informed the Ministry of Consumer Affairs about the incident and we will be sending a notice to the pizza company and demand strict action."
Vijay Raymane, General Manager, Smokin' Joe's said, "The customer contacted us through e-mail and our executive chef contacted the customer and apologised about the inconvenience caused to the family. We have conducted a quality check at the outlet and we will make sure that such incidents do not take place."
However, an email sent later to DNA by the General Manager, Smokin' Joe's Pizza Pvt Ltd asserted that Shah had found a 'live' cockroach on the pizza, and that the cockroach was not from their kitchen.
The email claimed that Shah's family had placed an order for a pizza on the afternoon of March 29 through a food delivery chain. "The order was delivered by the chain to their house, where they allegedly found a live cockroach stuck on the pizza delivered to them," the email stated.
"Our Santa Cruz (West) franchisee owner Mahesh Parulekar of M/s Bellboy had attended to the customer's complaint. Since the customer was agitated and aggressive, he refunded the entire bill amount of Rs 580. He also tried to explain that the cockroach was not from our kitchen. But the customer was unsatisfied with the explanation given," it added.
"We served almost 35 customers nearly 50 pizzas on March 29, but did not receive any such complaint. Our chef also explained that a cockroach cannot survive in the oven preheated to 350 degree Celsius. Thus, the conclusion is that the cockroach found on the pizza is not from our kitchen as alleged by Mr Rishi Shah," it added.
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