Where is coffee from, and what the Nayuki insect report says about store hygiene

A customer in Guangzhou reported seeing two or three small cockroaches on bread inside a Nayuki store's bread cabinet around 5 p.m. on November 5, along with flying insects on the glass door. Store staff blamed the double-door cabinet design, saying customers open it themselves, but crumbs on the door tracks pointed to gaps in daily cleaning.

It is not Nayuki's first food safety controversy; undercover kitchen reports in 2021 described cockroach problems, and complaints about insects in bread cabinets still appear on social platforms even though the brand says it hires monthly pest control. For tea and coffee brands alike, hygiene depends on cleaning routines and staff oversight, not equipment alone.

Recently, a netizen exposed that live insects appeared in the bread cabinet of a NAYUKI tea store in Guangzhou, triggering public concern about the food hygiene of tea beverage brands once again. The store attributed the problem to the double-door design, which allows insects to sneak in when customers open the door themselves, but bread crumbs on the cabinet door tracks also exposed lapses in daily cleaning. Notably, this is not the first time NAYUKI has been embroiled in a food safety controversy. As early as 2021, media undercover reports in the kitchen exposed hygiene hazards such as cockroaches. Although the brand claims to hire professional companies for pest control every month, complaints about insects in bread cabinets on social platforms are still common. Food safety is no small matter. Front Street Coffee believes that only by relentlessly addressing hygiene details can tea and coffee brands win consumers' long-term trust.

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Recently, a netizen posted on social media that in a NAYUKI tea store in Guangzhou, live insects were actually crawling inside the bread cabinet.

According to the netizen, around 5 p.m. on November 5, she saw two or three small cockroaches moving on the bread beside the outermost bread cabinet in the store, while several unknown flying insects were crawling along the glass cabinet door. At that time, the store was quite busy, and this scene made her extremely worried about the store's hygiene conditions.

In response, media interviewed the store manager. The manager explained that the appearance of insects might be related to the design of the double-door bread cabinet: "Sometimes customers open the door from the outside, and if we do not notice in time, the door stays open, and cockroaches may crawl in from outside." The manager also said that staff usually disinfect the bread cabinet, and no insects were found before the bread was placed in the cabinet.

It is worth noting that a small, inconspicuous notice is posted at the lower right corner of the glass door of the bread cabinet, reading: "If you need to buy bread, please call a staff member. Please do not open the door yourself, thank you." However, this notice in a concealed position clearly fails to serve its intended reminder function. Many customers still open and close the cabinet door themselves to take pastries, and staff have no time to keep an eye on it at all times, which gives insects an opportunity.

In addition, quite a few bread crumbs are scattered on the tracks of the bread cabinet door in the store. This kind of environment is highly likely to attract pests, but it is hard to notice without looking closely. It is currently unclear whether staff usually wipe and clean the bread crumbs in the gaps. After learning about the situation, the store manager responded that the issue would be reported to the company and the bread cabinet would be modified.

Afterward, staff from the market supervision bureau visited the store to inspect hygiene conditions. Upon inspection, the store held a business license and food permit, the preparation room was equipped with fly-killing equipment, and it could present a "routine pest control service" work order as well as the pest control company's qualification certificates and agreement.

However, a netizen in the same food industry pointed out that a double-door cabinet without a fly-killing lamp simply cannot prevent insects: "The light inside is only for illumination. For a cabinet like this that allows customers to open the door themselves, there is no way to stop flying insects or flies from entering." The netizen also said: "In the chain bakeries around here, small flying insects can often be seen inside too, and those breads are not packaged. You can only say this kind of thing cannot be fully prevented."

In fact, this is not the first time NAYUKI has had a food safety problem. As early as August 2021, Xinhua News Agency reporters went undercover in a NAYUKI kitchen and exposed a series of hygiene problems, including cockroaches. At that time, the official Weibo response said: "Pest control has always been a top priority for hygiene in NAYUKI stores. Every month we hire professional pest control companies to carry out pest control in stores 2-4 times."

However, now if you open social media apps and do a casual search, complaint posts about insects in NAYUKI bread cabinets are still everywhere. Relying only on pest control several times a month cannot fundamentally solve the problem of insects appearing in the food environment. Store managers and staff also need to pay more attention and observe frequently in daily operations, and once contaminated bread is found, it should immediately be removed from shelves and cleaned up.

Food is the first necessity of the people, and food safety has always been the primary concern for consumers when choosing a brand. It is hoped that NAYUKI and other tea and coffee brands can take this as a warning, persist in addressing hygiene management to the very end, strengthen the training and management of frontline employees, and leave no blind spots in food safety.

Front Street Coffee has always believed that no matter how creatively beverages are innovated, hygiene and quality are the foundation for a brand to stand firm.

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.