Recently, many posts accusing restaurants and shops of serving dishes with " foreign objects " to customers have appeared continuously on social networks, making many people fed up. Why is this happening?

“Negotiation and reconciliation are the best ways!”

In response to the above question, a restaurant owner in Ho Chi Minh City who was once accused by a customer of a "foreign object" story said that the incident probably would not have gone as far as it did, if at the time the customer complained, the restaurant staff knew how to handle the situation and satisfy the customer.

"It was the naive handling of the staff when the restaurant first encountered this situation that made the customer unhappy. The initial handling was not good, so all subsequent efforts by the restaurant to compensate the customer were ineffective, leading to unnecessary controversy," the restaurant owner admitted.

Meanwhile, the customer who complained about the restaurant also said that the restaurant's "unacceptable" handling of the matter was what made him angry, and he was determined to get to the bottom of the matter, not just stop at the restaurant serving food with "foreign objects". Regardless of who was right or wrong, the incident caused unpleasant experiences for both the restaurant and the diners.

Lawyer Bui Quoc Tuan, Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, said that recently, lawyers have also followed and learned about the case of a customer accusing a restaurant of serving food with "foreign objects" as reported by the press.

Accordingly, to avoid unfortunate incidents, the lawyer advised that when discovering a "foreign object" in the dish, the customer should immediately notify the restaurant owner so that they can resolve the issue together in a satisfactory manner. "If the issue cannot be resolved, the authorities can be invited to intervene. However, negotiation and reconciliation is the best solution," the lawyer said.

Lawyer Bui Quoc Tuan said that to protect the legitimate rights of consumers, Article 31 of the Law on Consumer Protection stipulates: "Consumers have the right to send requests to organizations and individuals trading in goods and services for negotiation when they believe that their legitimate rights and interests have been violated. Organizations and individuals trading in goods and services are responsible for receiving and negotiating with consumers within no more than 7 working days from the date of receipt of the request."

The law also stipulates that consumers must have evidence to prove that the complaint is legitimate and in accordance with the provisions of the law. “Specifically, the Law on Consumer Protection also allows consumers to choose the methods when detecting an act that shows signs of violating the law on consumer protection.

One is to directly contact the business organization or individual to request a settlement through negotiation; two is to ask a third organization or individual (state management agencies, social organizations participating in protecting consumer rights, companies, law offices or any other qualified organization or individual) to participate," the lawyer added.

According to lawyer Bui Quoc Tuan, when diners discover that a restaurant or eatery has "foreign objects", they should handle the situation according to the law and be careful when posting information on social networks without providing valid evidence to avoid legal troubles.

What does the Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety Management Board recommend?

Speaking to Thanh Nien , the Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety Management Board said that when encountering a "foreign object" in food, diners should save actual images at the time of discovery and quickly report it to the staff or owner of the establishment to resolve the matter.

The unit guides that when diners discover "foreign objects", they can contact and report via the hotline of competent state management agencies, the People's Committee of the ward/commune, district/county, Thu Duc City or the Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety Management Board (Food Safety Management Teams) in the area where the incident occurred.

The Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety Management Board receives feedback and recommendations on food poisoning prevention, warnings about unsafe food risks, foodborne diseases and poisoning prevention measures via hotline 02836101318 or email: [email protected].

Accordingly, the Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety Management Board said that upon receiving feedback, competent state management agencies will inspect and handle (if any) according to assigned functions and tasks and implement in accordance with legal regulations.