TOTTORI (TR) – Beef bowl chain Sukiya on Saturday apologized over the discovery of a rat inside miso soup served to a customer at an outlet in Tottori City earlier this year.
“We will strive to further strengthen our management systems at all stores nationwide to prevent a similar incident from occurring again in the future,” a statement posted on its website read.
At around 8:00 a.m. on January 21, the customer at the Tottori Minamiyoshikata outlet pointed out to an employee that a “foreign object” had been mixed into a bowl of miso soup, the company said.
In its statement, Sukiya acknowledged that the object was in fact a rat.
“The store in question was temporarily closed immediately after the [discovery], and hygiene inspections were conducted,” the statement continued. “Measures were taken to address cracks in the building that could lead to contamination, and employees were given rigorous training on hygiene management, including visual inspection of products before serving. The health center in charge was also consulted on the day of the outbreak.”
すき家の味噌汁にネズミ入ってた動画これガチ？ pic.twitter.com/TxqkhIPv38
— さささ (@yhp_m) January 21, 2025
The outlet in question resumed business two days after the outbreak after a health center official inspected the site.
“We have once again instructed outlets nationwide to thoroughly visually inspect products before serving them in order to prevent contamination,” the statement said.
An investigation revealed that the rat was likely mixed in when preparing the ingredients, and that the cause was an employee’s failure to visually check the condition of the product before serving it.
The company added that it has taken measures to prevent insects and vermin from entering from outside, including storing garbage containing food residue that could induce intrusion in a refrigerated garbage storeroom.
“As we refrained from making an announcement on our website or elsewhere when the issue first occurred, many customers ended up feeling anxious and concerned due to fragmentary and indirect information provided after the fact. We would like to once again apologize to our customers and all concerned parties for the inconvenience and concern caused,” the statement said.
