A Coventry eatery has responded after a viral video showed a staff member ‘pouring leftover juice into an empty carton.’ Footage of the incident at Wing Wah racked up thousands of views on TikTok.
In a 42-second clip shared on TikTok, an employee is seen pouring leftover cranberry juice from a glass into a carton on Thursday, July 30. Initially, the woman in the video was accused of using the juice to refill dispensers and serve other customers.
However, the woman has since explained what happened and said she collected the leftover fruit juice to help with her gardening. She said she dilutes the juice with water before adding it to her compost heap to grow vegetables.
CCTV footage showed the woman taking the juice carton home in a bag after her shift had ended. Bosses at Wing Wah said her actions were ‘completely innocent’ but understood why people were concerned.
A spokesman for Wing Wah said: “Many of you may have seen a short video circulating online showing one of our team members pouring leftover cranberry juice from a glass into an empty juice carton. We completely understand why this caused concern, and we would like to explain what actually happened.
“Our team member had collected the leftover fruit juice to take home for her allotment, where she dilutes it with water and adds it to her compost heap for her garden. After her shift, she took the carton home with her.
“Our CCTV footage confirms that the carton left the restaurant with her and was never used to serve another customer. Although her intentions were completely innocent, we fully appreciate how this looked and why people were worried.
“As a result, we have reminded all of our team that any leftover customer food or drinks must be disposed of immediately to prevent any misunderstanding in the future. We would like to sincerely apologise for the concern this caused.”
CCTV showed the woman leaving with the juice carton at 9.40pm on Thursday(Image: TikTok)
Giving her account of events, the unnamed staff member said: “I would like to sincerely apologise. I completely understand why the video has caused concern and why people were upset after seeing it.
“I love gardening and growing my own vegetables. I took the leftover juice home because I put it in the water and added it to my compost heap. I took it home for my own allotment. I make my own compost using suitable organic waste, and sometimes fruit juice is added to help the compost proceed.
“Once it is ready, I use the compost to grow vegetables. I am truly sorry again for the concern this has caused.”
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