A bakery worker was filmed packing loaves of unwrapped bread with his bare hands in the back of a truck in a viral video, prompting outrage online.
The video, uploaded to at least three Facebook groups over the weekend, captured a man squatting in a truck parked near Yau Tong station and transferring the bread loaves—placed on the floor next to him—into plastic trays. Another worker is seen stepping over him, and inches away from the uncovered bread, to lower the back door of the truck.
According to the wording on the back of the truck, the workers were packing bread for Yamazaki, a chain bakery with around 50 locations—many in MTR stations—across Hong Kong.
It is unclear who filmed the video.
Netizens were appalled by the clip, and many found it humorous that the worker pulled down the truck’s back door—as if to shield the unsavory conditions away from the public eye—only to reveal the company’s name.
“At first, I thought [the man was] packing bricks,” one comment read.
Read more: Maxim’s bakery fined after customer discovers glove in bread
In an emailed response to Coconuts, Yamazaki said that the worker was picking up the bread that “fell on the truck during delivery,” suggesting that there was no intention to sell them after they were dropped.
The company said the loaves were brought to the bakery to “verify” the “items and quantity with shop staff,” but were then discarded.
“In coming time, we will further review how to improve the procedure in handling this kind of problem,” Yamazaki wrote, adding that it is “deeply sorry for this issue.”
This is not the first time Yamazaki has had its unsanitary practices exposed. In February, it was reported that bread was left outside its Po Lam store without any covering or packaging. The company that it had issued a warning letter to employees and promised the incident would not occur again.
Reader Interactions