"Tooth" woman claimed to find in packet of fried onions made from starch-based material: AVA

Stomper Ng was horrified when she found what she said was a "tooth" in a pack of fried onions purchased from a Sheng Siong Supermarket branch at Block 506 Tampines Central 1 on June 14. 

Ng told Stomp that after finding the supposed tooth, she attempted to call the number displayed on the package sticker to ask for an explanation. 

For the next two days, Ng called the number repeatedly but could not get through apparently. 

She called again on Monday afternoon (June 18) and managed to get through to a female officer. Ng told the officer about the problem and was told that someone else would call her back.

She received a call from a male officer within an hour. He proposed a replacement for the packet of fried onions and an additional $20 worth of Sheng Siong voucher for compensation.

Ng rejected the offer and told him to refer her case to a more senior officer.

Ng allegedly received a call from an officer who offered her a replacement for the packet and also $100 worth of Sheng Siong vouchers. She rejected the offer too, citing that it was too little. 

The officer then reportedly told Ng that he wanted to check the product to ensure that it was indeed a tooth.

Ng replied that she would allow him to look at it, but the product would stay with her. She also rejected his suggestion to visit her home to look at the product.

Instead, she proposed to meet back at the Sheng Siong branch on the same day. She then drove to the supermarket. 

After Ng met the officer at the supermarket branch, he took a look at the packet of fried onions and affirmed that the object could be a tooth. 

Ng then told Kent that she would be going overseas on Friday (June 22) and would only be back the following Monday (June 25). She said that she would go to the media and authorities unless they arrived at a deal which she was satisfied with by Tuesday (June 26).

Kent called Ng again on Thursday (June 21) to tell her that he would not be able to increase the offer further. 

Ng said she did not hear from Kent again and proceeded to inform the National Environment Agency (NEA) on Wednesday morning (June 27). 

The case was then referred to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) which dispatched officers to Ng’s house at around 11.30am to collect the sample. 

The AVA officers also told Ng that further testing would be required to determine if the object was a human tooth or otherwise. 

Said Ng:

"I still don't know if it's a human tooth. It's quite big so we cannot be certain."

In response to a Stomp query, an AVA spokesman said:

"AVA had tested the object in the packet of fried onion and found that is a starch-based material, not a tooth."

Stomp understands that the "tooth" could have been a lump of hardened cornflour, an ingredient listed on the packaging of the fried onions.