WORM IN VEG BIRYANI, ALLEGES CUSTOMER; COMPANY FINED ₹11,500

Almost a month after opening its store in Hyderabad, Swedish housing firm IKEA faced an embarrassing situation after a customer allegedly found a worm in the vegetable biryani that was served to him.

The customer, Abeed Mohammad tweeted about the incident and also notified the food safety officer of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). He also alerted and tagged the Hyderabad police, Telangana Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development KT Rama Rao.

#Ikeahyderbad Today I found caterpillar in my veg biryani. Very unfair of food @TV9Telugu @KTRTRS sir @hydcitypolice @THHyderabad @Abnandhrajyothi pic.twitter.com/jumiED25fs

— Abeed Mohammad (@abeedmohammed9) August 31, 2018

The GHMC had later issued a notice to the firm and also fined them Rs. 11,500 for flouting norms related to waste segregation and use of plastic covers. The team has now gathered food samples for analysis. "They had shown proof that the food was not prepared at their kitchen, but was flown in from Halidiram in Nagpur, with whom they had tied up for food supply," an officer said.

Responding to the customer's tweet, IKEA has apologised for the incident and put out a statement. "We apologize for the unfortunate experience. We are investigating the matter and will take immediate corrective action . At IKEA, we have the strictest guidelines when it comes to food quality as customer health and safety are something we care about deeply," said the statement

We apologize for the unfortunate experience. We are investigating the matter and will take immediate corrective action. At IKEA, we have the strictest guidelines when it comes to food quality as customer health and safety are something we care about deeply.

— IKEAIndia (@IKEAIndia) September 1, 2018