starbucks korea issued an apology for a health-related incident involving its merchandise.
Last May, the world-famous coffee chain unveiled its Summer Carry Bag, a rectangular carry-on bearing the Starbucks logo. It was included in their summer product collection, and like similar items like their annual planner, it could be purchased with points.
Varios meses después, comenzaron a ceptar devoluciones de las bolsas de los clients luego de un denuncia anónima de que contenían formaldehído, un “químico colorless, de fuerte olor e inflamable” que puede cause leucemia y otros canceres raros cuando uno está expuesto a altos niveles of this.
A suspected investigator from FITI Testing and Research Institute announced the news in the community app Blind. Although the institute, a consumer goods testing agency, said the release was not an official position in itself, it still sparked widespread outrage among Starbucks customers in South Korea.
Starbucks Korea responded by offering three free drink coupons to bag owners as compensation. A company official further released a statement apologizing for the issue, adding that they are currently performing third-party testing to confirm the anonymous claims.
We apologize for causing concern to our customers about this incident. We are still in consultation with our supplier regarding the allegation that formaldehyde has been detected in our summer carry bag. Separately, we also carry out our own inspection through an accredited third-party agency. The result will probably come out in a week or two.
— Starbucks Korea official
They were adamant that they were not committing any crime, but they were open to learning more about the alleged formaldehyde in their product.
No violations of current law were found, but we are still investigating a specific cause that alerted us to the problem.
— Starbucks Korea official
