Mother concerned after unsettling discovery in bagel

Mariana DaSilva and her family consume a lot of bagels for the convenience they offer, and because of certain health restrictions, the Dempster's brand has become a staple in her diet.

“I usually buy these bagels once or twice a week,” she explained.

After her weekly shopping trip, where DaSilva picked up a couple of packages of the Dempster’s bagels, she returned home and discovered an addition in one of the bags.

“I picked up the bagels,” she said. “I normally do and go home to realize that there was a hook inside of the bag.”

The “hook” upon closer inspection appeared to be a type of staple used in cardboard carpet or wood. DaSilva said she contacted Dempster's right away, and they were equally concerned.

“They were very like, ‘Are you hurt? Is everyone okay?’ I explained to her, ‘Yeah, everyone's fine.’ The bag was not opened, so luckily we got lucky that it didn't go in the toaster and nobody consumed it,” DaSilva said.

In a statement sent to CTV News London, the company said they have extensive monitoring systems in place to ensure incidents like this do not happen. For example, every package goes through a metal detector before leaving the facility.

Mariana DaSilva discovered a fragment of metal in her bag of Dempster's bagels in June 2023. (Marek Sutherland/CTV News London) “Consumers are our first priority, so the quality and safety of our food are of the utmost importance to us. We take this matter very seriously,” the statement read.

The concern for DaSilva is there could be more foreign objects out there.

“The outcome could have been us in the hospital. But that was like the biggest concern. Is there more of these pieces, whatever it is that it's from, could be on other products as well?” she asked.

The company said in the statement a full investigation has been initiated, “We have initiated an investigation into this incident. Our dedicated team is working diligently to identify the source of the foreign material.”

The company added that this appears to be an isolated incident as they have not received any other customer inquiries at this time, but will communicate transparently as they gather more information.

 

Here is Dempster’s full statement to CTV News London

Dempster’s takes pride in baking the highest-quality products. Consumers are our first priority, so the quality and safety of our food are of the utmost importance to us; we take this matter very seriously.

We have initiated an investigation into this incident. Our dedicated team is working diligently to identify the source of the foreign material; however, the consumer has not provided us with the packaging for examination. Without the sample, it is difficult to conduct a complete, thorough investigation to determine how the foreign material entered the product.

All of our production facilities follow good manufacturing practices and have extensive monitoring systems in place to ensure that incidents like this do not happen. From the photos that have been shared with us, we immediately began an investigation. Before bread leaves our bakery, it goes through a metal detector. On the day that this package of bagels was baked, our metal detectors were working and would have detected this object. We also interviewed the associate who was working in the area and have reviewed video footage - there was no unusual activity. This is an isolated incident; we have not received any other consumer inquiries with this issue.

We will continue to communicate transparently and provide updates as we gather more information. Rest assured, we remain fully dedicated to delivering the exceptional products that our consumers have come to expect from us. We deeply regret that this has happened and appreciate the support and trust of our loyal consumers during this time.