Cold Storage apologises for 'insensitive' beef promotion during Deepavali

A Deepavali promotion for beef at supermarket chain Cold Storage has been slammed for being insensitive by outraged netizens.

The incident first stirred controversy after Twitter user Adam Flinter shared a photo of the promotion, which advertised a 38 per cent discount for certain beef products.

"Cultural understanding eh?" said Adam, who had gotten the picture from a friend.

It is understood that Hindus generally abstain from eating beef as they regard the cow as a sacred animal.

Cold Storage has since apologised for the incident.

In a statement to The Straits Times on Wednesday, Cold Storage explained that the promotion was put up at one store by a junior team member who had "overlooked the cultural sensitivity".

It added: "We have since explained and coached him on the cultural sensitivity and he assured us that he had no intention to disrespect the Hindus.

"We also took this opportunity immediately to coach all our team members to be mindful of cultural sensitivities in Singapore.

"We sincerely apologise to all Hindus who are celebrating Deepavali on this matter."