Starbucks Photo: VCG

Starbucks China responded on Saturday afternoon after a consumer complained that a live cockroach was found in her Starbucks coffee, with the chain claiming that no infestation was found after multiple inspections.

The company said it immediately checked the surveillance video of the related store after it learned of the complaint, and said that store staff made the drink in accordance with standard operating procedures and used disposable sealing and leakproof packaging specially designed for takeout, according to a statement posted by the company on Weibo.

Starbucks said that the store has a complete elimination record, and also invited third-party pest service companies to conduct on-site inspections and thoroughly check in-store equipment on both Thursday and Friday, but no pest problems were found.

The customer posted a picture on Weibo on Friday, showing a live cockroach in her Starbucks coffee. The topic went viral online on Saturday and at one point ranked first on Weibo's hotly discussed topics.

Some netizens said the picture was extremely nauseating and pointed out that it is not the first time that Starbucks stores were subject to food safety concerns. There are also netizens that questioned the reliability of the complaint, saying that there's a possibility that the live insect was placed in the cup after leaving the store.

Earlier in February, Starbucks was fined around 1.36 million yuan ($210,000) by the local market regulator in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, after two of its outlets in the city were found to have adjusted ingredient shelf life and used expired ingredients.

Also in February, the US coffee giant  faced a backlash from Chinese social media users after staff in one of its stores in Chongqing, Southwest China, reportedly drove out local police who were eating food at the doorstep of the store, citing that the latter's behavior could affect the coffee brand's image.

The company later apologized for a "misunderstanding" caused by "inappropriate words." Regarding the event, the People's Daily commented that "Starbucks, please take back your arrogance" which also reflected the feelings of many Chinese consumers.

Starbucks has more than 5,100 locations in more than 200 cities across China which is the company's second biggest market. The company reported third-quarter revenue in China of $910 million for 2021 fiscal year, an increase of 45 percent compared with the same period last year.

Global Times