Cake Purchased at a Bakery
Full of Mold in Spots
Complaint Met with "It's Because of the Hot Weather" Response
A story has been shared about a cake purchased from a bakery that was found to have mold inside when cut.
On the 30th of last month, a post titled "They said they would refund me, but I feel bad" was uploaded on an online community. The author, A, who bought a chocolate cake from a cake specialty store for her husband's birthday, began by saying, "We lit the candles at 12 o'clock and cut the cake to eat, but everyone complained, saying 'It's dry and tasteless,' and 'This is the first time I've had such a bad-tasting cake.'"
A explained the situation, saying, "I was upset and forced myself to eat the cake alone," and "While eating, I suddenly noticed a strange taste, so I cut the cake to check and found dark green mold growing intermittently inside the cake." She added, "The mold was not only on a part of the cake but spread evenly throughout."
In the photos A shared, green mold can be seen growing intermittently inside the chocolate cake layers that have been cut into several pieces. The area with the most mold shows more mold than the amount of white whipped cream. Judging by the green color of the mold, it is presumed to be blue mold (penicillium). Blue mold is famous for producing penicillin and refers collectively to molds of the genus Penicillium in the order Eurotiales of the phylum Ascomycota. It commonly grows on organic materials such as bread and rice cakes, and ingestion can cause neurological and respiratory diseases as well as kidney disorders.
Angry, A immediately contacted the store. She claimed, "When I called the store, there was no apology or suspicion; they just said, 'Just come and we'll refund you.' I said I would bring the cake and send photos of the mold, but they responded carelessly, 'Since you're going to throw it away anyway, just come.'” She continued, "When I said it seemed like they knew the cake was old and moldy, they said they would refund me, but I still felt very bad."
A said, "Maybe they gave up because there are many difficult customers who say the cake tastes bad after one bite, but there was no confirmation or apology even though I said there was mold, not just that it tasted bad." She lamented, "After the kids ate the cake, they kept going to the bathroom and said they felt like something was breaking out on their faces. I couldn't sleep at night feeling sorry for my husband and kids."
Later, A visited the bakery and received a refund. When receiving the refund, she showed the moldy cake photos to the store owner and asked, "Isn't this too severe?" The owner replied, "It's because the weather has been hot lately, sorry," and handed A a black bag containing bread. A said, "I told them I never want to eat anything from this bakery again and left," adding, "I got the refund, but I feel really bad. Would it be better to report it instead of getting a refund next time?" and asked for opinions.
Netizens who read the story responded with comments such as, "At that level, you could even demand hospital bills," "I thought it was a mint chocolate cake," "You might develop trauma against chocolate cake," "You should report it so others don't get harmed," and "Besides refunds, places like that should be reported to the hygiene department." A netizen B, who currently runs a cake specialty store, advised, "For mold to grow on cakes displayed in the showcase, it takes at least five days. At that level, you should be compensated even without a medical certificate. It seems like the cake was left out for a very long time."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
