A woman in Wuxi, Jiangsu, China, has claimed that she discovered what appeared to be parts of a cockroach inside a packet of Oishi potato chips, prompting her to lodge a consumer complaint.
The woman, identified as Li, said she purchased six packets of the snacks through an online shopping platform in June for 30 yuan (around RM19).
According to Li, she opened one of the packets on July 31 and had already eaten about half of the chips when she noticed what appeared to be several pieces of a cockroach inside.
She suspected the insect had entered the food during the manufacturing process, describing the remains as appearing dried out and broken into several pieces. She believed the pieces could have formed a whole cockroach.
Li said she immediately lodged a complaint through China’s 12315 consumer hotline and requested a refund and compensation under the relevant food safety regulations.
On August 3, Oishi sent staff in Wuxi to collect the packet for examination. Four days later, the company reportedly told Li that an initial inspection and a review of surveillance footage from the production date found no evidence of cockroach activity at the facility.
The company reportedly said the possibility of a cockroach entering the product during normal production was relatively low and offered her a box of Oishi potato chips as compensation.
However, Li was not satisfied with the explanation and requested that Oishi’s Shanghai headquarters become involved in handling the complaint.
Under Article 148 of China’s Food Safety Law, consumers may seek compensation for losses caused by food that fails to meet food safety standards. In certain circumstances, they may also seek additional compensation equivalent to 10 times the purchase price or three times their losses, with a minimum additional compensation of 1,000 yuan (around RM620).
On August 11, media contacted the official hotline of Oishi China, where a company representative said the matter was still being investigated and that the company would contact Li to resolve the issue.
Later that evening, Li confirmed that the dispute had been settled. She said Oishi had agreed to pay her 1,000 yuan (around RM620) in compensation, in addition to refunding the original 30 yuan (around RM19) purchase price.
