Pepsico says the snack was sold without contamination.
In a statement, the company says there was no problem with the snack sold in Santa Catarina; the packaging was traced by batch and serial number; the consumer alleged the presence of a dead rat inside the packaging; will this lie go unpunished?
After a consumer complained about finding a rodent inside a bag of Elma Chips snacks, PepsiCo clarified, through a statement released today, that it is not possible that the product was contaminated during the packaging process at the factory or during storage at the company's sales branch.
The analyses were carried out using documentation from the Foreign Material Detection System (X-ray) at the factory in Itu, which examines all products leaving the factory for the market. PepsiCo became aware of the complaint last Tuesday, the 11th, after Ângela Maria Vielle, from Joinville (SC), contacted the company through the Consumer Service Center (SAC).
According to information released by PepsiCo, after the complaint, the customer service team went to the consumer's residence to obtain more information for analysis. She refused to hand over the packaging, but the product was traced based on the batch number and date. The company also stated that cleaning and pest control services are carried out meticulously and periodically in all factories and sales branches in Brazil.
Below is a news article published today by 247 regarding a consumer complaint from Santa Catarina:
PepsiCo Brazil, manufacturer of Elma Chips products, released a statement regarding information that a woman had found a rat inside a package of the snack produced by the company in Santa Catarina earlier this week. Following the complaint from the consumer, from the city of Joinville, who contacted the company through the Consumer Service Center (SAC) on Tuesday (11), PepsiCo collected a sample of the Snack De Montão product for analysis, to ascertain whether the complaint is valid and what the causes of this product contamination might be. According to the statement, after the evaluation is completed, the company "will be able to transparently inform consumers, as well as seek to avoid further changes to our products". The company remains available for clarification.
Housewife Angela Maria Ziele, 45, says she found a dead rat inside a bag of Elma Chips chips, in Joinville (SC), this Monday (10). According to her, her 5-year-old son ate some of the chips before she noticed the presence of the dead animal.
Angela explained that she bought the snack at her son's request at a supermarket near her house. "He opened it and started eating, then my older son went to get some, smelled something bad and said it was spoiled. I said that wasn't impossible, but when I looked at the package I saw black spots on the snack. I kept digging and found the rat inside the package," she said.
The housewife suspected the food might be expired, which is why it smelled bad. According to Angela, the packaging wasn't damaged, and there was no way a rat could have gotten inside. Angela went to the store where she bought the snack to complain and was advised to contact Elma Chips.
"I called the toll-free number and they told me they would send someone to my house to do the analysis. They came [this Tuesday, the 11th], took a picture, but didn't take the snack and didn't say anything. The information I have is that the Health Surveillance will collect it," said Angela.
For Angela, the biggest concern is for her 5-year-old son who ingested the food. She said she will take him to the doctor this Thursday (13) for a check-up. "I'm afraid of leptospirosis, I don't know when the disease might manifest itself. My son's health is what worries me most."
PepsiCo, through a note sent to the newspaper "A Noticia", from Grupo RBS, informed that it became aware of the complaint this Tuesday (11), after the consumer contacted the company through the Consumer Service (SAC) and that the company is waiting to complete the evaluation of the product sample in order to be able to comment on what happened.
Nota
After a consumer complained about finding a rodent inside a bag of Elma Chips snacks, PepsiCo clarified, through a statement released today, that it is not possible that the product was contaminated during the packaging process at the factory or during storage at the company's sales branch.
The analyses were carried out using documentation from the Foreign Material Detection System (X-ray) at the factory in Itu, which examines all products leaving the factory for the market. PepsiCo became aware of the complaint last Tuesday, the 11th, after Ângela Maria Vielle, from Joinville (SC), contacted the company through the Consumer Service Center (SAC).
According to information released by PepsiCo, after the complaint, the customer service team went to the consumer's residence to obtain more information for analysis. She refused to hand over the packaging, but the product was traced based on the batch number and date. The company also stated that cleaning and pest control services are carried out meticulously and periodically in all factories and sales branches in Brazil.