Mops, Toilet Brushes Hanging Over Pizza Dough At Domino's Leaves Netizens Appalled: Do Food Outlets Maintain Hygiene Standards?

The internet was taken by a storm when a recent tweet showed images of mops and toilet brushes hanging over trays of pizza dough at a Dominos store. The image went viral instantly and raised questions over the hygiene standards set in place at many of the popular multinational food chains in the country.

The meals made available at many of these food chains are the go-to for a lot of people, especially for the student community, as they are pocket-friendly for the flavours they offer and can easily be spotted around every nook and corner. While this is not an isolated incident, many fast food chains have previously been able to brush off such hygiene concerns under the rug.

The recent incident of pizza dough trays left heedlessly with cleaning equipment hanging over it has triggered a row with netizens expressing their dissatisfaction and anger over the food that Domino's brings to the table. It has also once again raised the concern on the hygiene conditions that would be attached in the preparation of bulk junk food made available within minutes.

The Tweet That Raised Questions

Multinational pizza restaurant chain Domino's is in the picture for criticism after a Twitter user by the name of Sahil Karnany posted an image showing a mop and a toilet brush hanging above the pizza dough. The image is allegedly from a Dominos outlet in Bengaluru's Hosa Road.

This is how Dominos India serves us fresh Pizza; very disgusted; read the tweet, which then spread across like wildfire as netizens picked it up from there.

This is how @dominos_india serves us fresh Pizza! Very disgusted.

Location: Bangalore @fssaiindia @MoHFW_INDIA @mla_sudhakar @mansukhmandviya #foodsafety pic.twitter.com/1geVVy8mP5

— Sahil Karnany (@sahilkarnany) July 24, 2022

The tweet had also tagged the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, Ministry of Health, Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar and Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. The tweet was reposted by many online users, bringing in the attention of many officials.

Few users were enraged over the hygiene standards set in place at the fast food chain and demanded that the relevant authorities close the store right away. A report by The News Minute, showed a user tweet, "#DominosIndia is giving those same Pizzas for free in a contest in which toilet mops were hanged and people are really excited to win free sh*t."

Photos from a Domino's outlet in Bengaluru wherein cleaning mops were hanging above trays of pizza dough. A toilet brush, mops and clothes could be seen hanging on the wall and under them were placed the dough trays.

Please prefer home made food 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Wl8IYzjULk

— Tushar ॐ♫₹ (@Tushar_KN) August 14, 2022

Few others also suggested taking the issue legally as the image would "suffice to terminate the franchise arrangement".

Consumers were quick to raise complaints regarding the outlet that they had faced earlier as well. Some conveyed the terrible experiences they have had with the quality of the food sent in or the staff's behaviour towards them.

I don't know which location is this. But I went to Hosa Road (opposite to AMR tech park) and the entire store was unclean. The floor was not mopped, the tables were not clean, dead flies on the floor under the electric fly killing machine.

I had the food only coz I paid.

— Mathew kadavan (@kadavanmathew) August 14, 2022

Dominos took to their official account to respond to the concerns and stated that deviations from good hygiene and food safety are never tolerated at the organisation.

"Domino's adheres to world-class protocols for ensuring the highest standards of hygiene and food safety," they said in a release.

"An incident involving one of our stores was recently brought to our notice. We want to assert that this is an isolated incident and have taken the strictest action against the restaurant in question. Please be informed that we have zero tolerance for violations of our high safety standards. Rest assured we remain committed to doing everything necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of our customers," they further stated.

Incidents That Have Happened Time And Over

Fast food chains have often been in discussions about the questionable hygiene standards under which the food is prepared. Prior to the incident regarding Domino's, several complaints were raised by netizens regarding other fast food chains such as McDonald's and KFC.

Earlier this year, an Ahmedabad outlet of McDonald's was sealed shut after a customer spotted a dead lizard in their soft drink. The consumer had taken to Twitter to share the video of the incident and reportedly had to wait for hours before the management paid attention to their concerns.

In fact, similar quality hazards had led to the shut down of over 84 outlets of McDonald's run by the Connaught Plaza Restaurants (CPRL) in the north and east India in the year 2017. The company had stated that the ingredients used at the restaurants were not in line with the chain's global standards, which led to the closing.

However, repeated incidents such as this have made many consumers rethink what goes on their plates in the name of cheap and tasty junk food.

Also Read: Another Incident Of Food Poisoning: Over 150 Students Fall Sick After Eating Lunch At IIIT-Basar Mess