Linden bakery being probed after customer reports finding glass in pastry

The Linden Town Council’s health unit is investigating a popular bakery after a resident claimed she found a piece of glass in a pine tart it produced.

Stacy Worrell, 24, of 60 Republic Avenue, Linden, said that she was compelled to file complaints at all levels, including at the Mackenzie Police Station and the Linden Town Council, after she allegedly found a piece of glass, about half the size of a domino, in a pine tart purchased at Jac’s.

According to Worrell, her cousin purchased the pine tart and two buns and at the bakery on Sunday. Worrell said she stumbled upon a piece of glass while eating on Monday morning.

She said that she immediately went to Jac’s proprietor, former Mayor Stan Smith. The bakery is located a short distance from Worrell’s home and she said he was exiting the establishment when she encountered him. However, she said that while she was telling Smith what happened, he grabbed the piece of glass from her and refused to return it. “He started behaving real arrogant and refused to give it back to me and I was shame and embarrassed because there were people around,” she said.

Worrell added that she would have wanted to resolve the matter amicably but she was angered by the businessman’s response. She said that she made a written report to the Mackenzie Police Station, the Linden Town Council and a number of media houses.

Contacted about the allegation, Smith said that he was willing to offer the woman satisfaction but he was met with “arrogance.” He said that he listened to her complaint and had taken the object to show the bakery staff. “I am not sure that this woman is not trying to frame me or something because it is impossible for this size of object to slip pass the bakers because of the process that is used in making pine tarts,” he explained. Smith added that if by chance the bakery was at fault, he would deal with the bakers.

Smith said that the object was not half the size the woman claimed and that he found the discovery hard to comprehend.

He noted that there is no glass of any sort in the bakery, only plastic.

The businessman said that he had offered to replace the pine tart but the woman refused. Worrell confirmed this also. She said that she was angry because he didn’t offer an apology nor did he give her any satisfaction. “If I was careless in eating that glass could have slipped down my throat and cause me serious damage or even killed me,” she said.

Efforts to contact the Town Council’s health unit were unsuccessful. However, Smith confirmed that his business was visited by a health officer, based on Worrell’s complaint. The bakery has been in operation in Linden for more than a decade and supplies the local and national markets.