HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Panera Bread has begun an internal investigation after a customer claims to have found what appears to be a razor blade at the bottom of her soup.
Wyteeshia McRoberts said she picked up lunch for herself and some co-workers at a Panera Bread near Campbell Drive and Florida's Turnpike in Homestead.
She said she took the food back to work.
"I (ordered) a lemon orzo and then I (ordered) a Greek Mediterranean salad," McRoberts said.
She said as she got to the bottom of the bowl, her spoon got caught on something.
"I start eating the soup and then I hear this sound and the spoon is not moving, so I happen to look down and I see something shiny," she said.
McRoberts said what she saw at the bottom appeared to be a razor blade.
"I go and run straight to my co-workers and say, 'Look at this,'" she said.
Local 10 News spoke to a co-worker who was with McRoberts and confirms her account of the story.
"She was very, very scared," Elizabeth Flores said.
Fearing there could have been another blade in the soup that she already swallowed, McRoberts said she went to the doctor.
The doctor's visit included blood work and a tetanus shot.
McRoberts said she returned the soup to the store, and the manager filled out an incident report.
She said she received an apology and refund.
McRoberts said Panera Bread corporate risk management offered to pay her medical bills.
"I don't want you to throw money at me," she said. "I mean, thank you for trying to pay my medical bills and giving me a gift card, but I really want to know what you're going doing to make sure (this never happens again)."
In a statement to Local 10 News, Panera Bread said, "Earlier this week, a guest in one of our South Florida bakery-cafes reported finding a foreign object in her soup. We immediately responded and began an investigation to determine its source. The investigation is still in progress and we remain in close consultation with the guest and associates at the bakery-cafe. As always, the health and safety of our guests is of utmost importance.
Reports like this are exceedingly rare, and we take them very seriously. Our bakery-cafe associates undergo consistent training to safely and efficiently serve more than 10 million guests per week. Our investigation is still underway. We use several tools with sharp edges for cutting, slicing and opening food in our bakery-cafes. The object in question has not yet been returned to Panera to be accurately inspected and identified."
McRoberts said the soup with the object was returned to the store and given to the manager.
"That could have been someone's child. That could have been my child," McRoberts said. "That could have been anybody that could have gotten hurt. Thank God I didn't, because I looked down."
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