An Ontario woman who claims she found a cockroach in her Tim Hortons coffee says she is speaking out in hopes of warning the public about the “serious food safety violation.”
Markham resident Subhana Pira told blogTO that she found a cockroach in her iced coffee that she ordered at a Tim Hortons located at 4 Lebovic Ave. in Scarborough on March 10. According to Pira, she had already consumed part of the drink before discovering the insect inside.
Pira claims that after drinking the contaminated coffee, she and others in her group who also drank iced coffee began experiencing severe symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhea. She later captured a recording of a Tim Hortons employee who claimed that cockroaches are sometimes found in pre-packaged items.
“Sometimes it comes in the iced coffee packet, it happens,” the employee states in the video. He also mentioned that the store has pest control in place, but said, “We don’t have any control on the pests [for pre-packaged items].”
Pira, along with her group of friends who had gathered at the coffee shop after breaking their Ramadan fast, immediately cancelled their fourth drink and demanded refunds for the three other beverages. Staff at the location complied with the request, but Pira says Tim Hortons has not taken responsibility for the larger issue.
She has reported the incident to Toronto Public Health and says she is now considering legal action.
“What’s seen in the video is concerning and we’re looking into it with the restaurant owner,” Tim Hortons responded. The company emphasized that they were confident the incident didn’t occur during the coffee’s packaging process, citing their strict manufacturing controls.
They also noted that routine health and safety inspections at the location had found no issues, including a recent inspection by Toronto Public Health (TPH) after the complaint, which reportedly did not raise any concerns.
According to Health Canada, cockroaches can contaminate food and spread disease by walking over food or food preparation areas after travelling through garbage and sewers. Pira expressed concern for public health and insisted that others should be made aware of the situation.
In response to the incident, Pira says Tim Hortons offered her a $50 gift card, which she declined. The company further stated that their corporate staff had visited the site after the complaint and found no issues. “The public health inspector was in the restaurant for 50 minutes,” they noted, adding that there have been no similar complaints from other customers in recent months.
“Given that legal action has been threatened and an unusually large financial demand has been made, we have no further comment at this time.”
