‘What are these?’: Singapore man finds black thread-like objects in freshly squeezed orange juice

SINGAPORE: A man bought orange juice from an iJooz vending machine in hopes of satisfying his thirst, but after drinking half a cup, he was shocked to find black, unidentified substances in his drink.

Case details revealed that a 58-year-old bought freshly squeezed orange juice from a vending machine outside Punggol Plaza on November 5, at around 7:30 p.m. He told Shin Min Daily News that he and his family were regular customers of the vending machine and were confident in the quality of the juice. 

When he bought the juice on the day of the incident, he immediately drank it and offered half the cup to his wife. However, they found several black specks inside the plastic seal on the top of the cup, and when they tore open the seal, they saw many black, thin, and thread-like unidentified objects in the juice. They admitted that they do not know what these are or how they got into the orange juice. 

To make sure that no one else would experience the same thing, the man went back to the vending machine about 20 minutes later and bought another cup. However, this one seemed normal, and they drank the second cup without hesitation. 

Unfortunately, the man claimed that he had diarrhoea twice the next morning and felt dizzy in the afternoon. He was worried that the unidentified substances in the orange juice might affect his overall health. 

He then reported the incident to the vending machine company. Furthermore, the Food Bureau is also investigating the case. 

“Food safety is a shared responsibility of all parties. While the Food Bureau formulates and implements regulatory measures, food vending machine operators must also fulfil their responsibilities, comply with good food hygiene and food preparation practices, and ensure that the machines are clean and properly maintained,” the authorities claimed. 

In separate news, there was a report that a 60-year-old man was left disgusted after finding a small cockroach inside a steamed bun he bought from a coffee and bread stall at a Singapore hawker centre. 

He said he had already taken two bites before noticing the insect. Read more about the news story here.