Watch: Woman In China Finds 'Human Tooth' In Moon Cake

A customer of the US supermarket chain Sam’s Club in China has lodged a complaint after reportedly finding a human tooth inside a moon cake bought from one of its stores. In a video shared on Douyin, the woman displayed the tooth, which she claimed was discovered in a meat-filled mooncake purchased for 30 yuan (nearly Rs 300) at the Changzhou branch in Jiangsu province. The incident, initially reported by Star Video on September 5, is currently under investigation.

According to a report in South China Morning Post (SCMP), the woman clarified that the tooth did not belong to anyone in her family and promptly reported the incident to the police. The video of the incident was reshared on microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter) by Li Muyang, the host of Mu Yang Show.

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Sam’s Club in Changzhou have confirmed that the company is investigating the case. Meanwhile, the mooncake manufacturer, as cited by Hongxing News, dismissed the possibility by saying that it is “impossible to have a tooth mixed in the meat filling.”

A spokesperson, identified by the surname Liu, explained that all the meat used in the products is finely minced and passes through an X-ray machine designed to detect foreign particles like bones. Liu also noted that no such incidents have been reported in over ten years.

The report further mentioned that the manufacturer has provided surveillance footage to Sam’s Club and the Changzhou market regulatory department for further examination. Local government departments are also looking into the matter.

As per the SCMP report, a user on Douyin commented, “It’s so disgusting to find other people’s teeth in food.”

Another commenter suggested the woman double-check with her family to ensure no one unknowingly lost part of a tooth, noting, “It sometimes does not hurt at all when part of the tooth falls off, so they might not know they’ve lost it.”

Sam’s Club has faced several food safety concerns in its mainland China stores over the years. In one incident from 2022, a woman from Fujjan province reported that her uncle discovered three artificial human teeth in Swiss rolls bought from the store. This resulted in him breaking his teeth while eating.

Additionally, that same year Sam’s Club locations in Nanjing and Beijing Shunyi were fined 30,000 yuan (approximately Rs 3.5 lakh) and 65,000 yuan (Rs 7.5 lakh) respectively, for selling mouldy strawberries and expired milk powder.

Sam’s Club, which has 49 branches across mainland China and requires an annual membership costing 260 yuan (around Rs 3,000) a year, has been fined over 20 times in recent years for issues related to false advertising and food safety, according to The Paper as quoted by SCMP.