Bolt found in wrap from Tank: 'I was lucky I didn't choke'

Val Thomas found a bolt in her wrap. it is the second unwanted surprise Tank has served up in recent days.

Another customer of a popular health food takeaway store has revealed their experience with an inedible intruder in their meal.

Val Thomas ordered a vegetarian wrap from Tank Juice Bar at 162 Victoria Street West, Auckland, but after taking a bite she realised there was an extra, unwanted ingredient.

"I thought it may have been a piece of meat or something but it tasted grimy, and then next thing I know I'm spitting out a bolt, which I certainly wasn't expecting," she told the Herald.

"I was quite lucky that I didn't choke."

She showed the 2cm-long object to the store's manager who quickly offered her a replacement wrap, which she accepted.

Another photo of the unwanted surprise found in a Tank meal. Photo / Val Thomas

It was not the last time she would have an issue with the content of her Tank order.
"I thought I'd give them another chance.

"The next time I went back there I ordered the same wrap without dairy, and when I opened it up it was full of cheese, which was the second problem in a number of weeks."

After filing a complaint she was offered a $30 Tank voucher.

"That missed the point. I was more concerned about customers getting what they ordered and their quality control processes.

"It's a really great concept, but with food safety is really important."

Josh Bargrove had a similar experience after chipping his tooth on a coin-sized rock in a salad purchased from Tank at Botany Town Centre.

"I've been quite sick lately and I thought I'd get something healthy so I went to Tank.

"It's just shocking. It's one thing to find insects or something, I've had that happen before at other places and I've just pulled it out and it's all good, but you don't expect something like this."

He was offered a refund after taking the salad back to the counter, but he refused.

"I didn't really want the money back, that's not the point.

"As a business owner myself I wouldn't get away with it so I don't see why someone else should."

Tank have since promised to reimburse Mr Bargrove for the cost of his dental work.

"I've got to take time off work to get it sorted, it's still quite an inconvenience really."

A Tank spokeswoman says the company is undertaking a full internal review of its processes.

"We have always maintained a high level of quality checks, but any incident is one incident too many.

"In the past four months we have served close to 300,000 salads, we want the incidence rate of the above to be zero."

Consumer NZ chief executive Sue Chetwin said customers who find foreign objects in their food would be entitled to a refund and a replacement product.

"They would need to know it wasn't placed in there by the customer, which does sometimes happen."

A Tank spokeswoman says the company is undertaking a full internal review of its processes.

"We have always maintained a high level of quality checks, but any incident is one incident too many.

"In the past four months we have served close to 300,000 salads, we want the incidence rate of the above to be zero."