National
Spur denies scary rumour─── 13:18 Tue, 25 Nov 2014
The food chain Spur Steak Ranches has denied claims made on Facebook that some of its sauces contain faeces and are served to its white customers.
A user of the social network Smanga Mphephetse Ndukuzabafo wrote that people working at the restaurant were recruited to spit and urinate in food orders of white customers. He also claimed that the sauce used to marinate its ribs in contained faeces.
Spur defended itself yesterday saying the social media post is "a clear and obvious attempt to create viral damage to restaurant brands and should be treated with the contempt this blatantly racist and baseless nonsense deserves".
The franchise said it's important to note that "the vast majority of Spur’s have cameras both in the kitchen (food preparation) as well as restaurant seating area. We are proud our customer base is racially diverse as are our management teams and waiters."
Spur asked South Africans to consider that social media is an open forum where anyone can make any claim.
Spur said it will be taking legal action against the person who posted the slanderous statement.
The full statement from Spur:
It is important to note that each Spur Steak Ranch is individually owned and operated under a franchise agreement and our owners work in their restaurants daily. Each meal is prepared to order and cooked/assembled very much in the public eye, the nature of our offering renders it difficult to contaminate.
We conduct numerous hygiene and operational checks daily ensuing all products meet Spur's high standard of product integrity. Our training department implements intensive and ongoing operational, hygiene and sanitation training programs to all staff. It is also important to note that the vast majority of Spur’s have cameras both in the kitchen (food preparation) as well as restaurant seating area. We are proud our customer base is racially diverse as are our management teams and waiters.
The social media post is a clear and obvious attempt to create viral damage to restaurant brands and should be treated with the contempt this blatantly racist and baseless nonsense deserves. Our patrons have nothing to fear nor would our valued staffing teams treat our patrons badly. It is a known fact that Smanga (originator of the Facebook post) regularly posts outlandish and destructive statements on various community forums with the goal to garner attention and incite a viral response, mostly in a racist manner. His profile picture (a person urinating on a another person in front of a crowd of people) identifies the type of individual he is.
Please consider that social media is an open forum where anyone can make any claim, we do encourage our customers to investigate the claims and identify the context of where the statement comes from before sharing subject matter that is completely fictitious and highly destructive to the livelihoods of thousands.
We will be taking legal action against the originator of the post for the malicious, slanderous and false statements which were made.
