State authorities are investigating a high-profile vegan Long Island bakery for allegedly trying to pass off Dunkin’ donuts as its own gluten-free treats.
Cindy Snacks, a vegan grocer in Huntington, accused one of its distributors, The Savory Fig, of supplying non-vegan donuts that were uncooked and contaminated with allergens. In an Instagram post on March 4th.
The post included a photo of a strawberry frosted donut covered in a small purple and orange letter “D,” which is suspiciously similar to Dunkin’ Donuts and Sprinkles, which contains dairy and gluten. They were similar.
“I immediately became concerned as to why this donut was decorated differently than other donuts and in a way that was strikingly similar to the well-known chain,” said Jonathan Stengel, co-owner of Cindy Snacks. ,” he wrote in the post.
“I immediately took all the delivered items off the racks and put them in the back as a precaution until I could see what was going on here and what wasn’t.”
Stengel shared a text message exchange with Michelle Sirianni, owner of The Savory Fig, expressing concerns about the donuts.
“If this were Dunkin’ Donuts, there are a lot of people with severe dairy allergies who shop here, so the ingredients could kill someone,” Stengel wrote, adding that if she was in a bad mood, the conversation He added that he plans to make it private.
Sirianni responded that the donuts were “absolutely not” from Dunkin’.
Still unconvinced, Stengel and her partner Cindy Kay purchased an EZ gluten home test kit for the pastry. According to a photo shared in the post, the test result was “highly positive” for gluten.
“We have immediately severed all personal and business relationships with this individual. We regret providing her products to our customers and our own families. We trusted a well-known and highly recommended vegan and gluten-free bakery,” Stengel said in the post.
The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets is responsible for food safety inspections. confirmed to Newsday The company said it has received numerous complaints about The Savory Fig and will investigate the incident.
The bakery is registered as a homegrown processing business based in Patchogue.
According to the ministry, home processors are exempt from obtaining licenses for food processing businesses and food retailers. However, you must register with the state and follow its guidelines, including identifying allergens such as gluten in your products.
Sirianni told NewsDay that Cindy Snack’s Instagram post was “false” and denied that the pastries in the photo were hers.
“That wasn’t my donut,” she said.
