Roman’s Pizza to probe viral video of employee apparently cleaning used pizza boxes, allegedly for reuse

A video circulating on social media showing a Roman’s Pizza employee apparently cleaning used pizza boxes, allegedly for reuse, has sparked a wave of controversy and concern among customers.

The footage, from a Roman’s Pizza branch at Mayfield Square shopping centre in Daveyton, has prompted calls for clarity from the franchise.

Roman’s Pizza marketing and brand manager Ayanda Khumalo de Klerk told TimesLIVE the company was investigating the matter. 

Roman’s Pizza CEO John Nicolakakis said the scenes depicted in the video were not a practice within their brand.

“We want to assure our valued customers and the public that this is not a practice within our brand. At Roman’s Pizza, we take pride in our customer service and adhere to strict operational protocols to ensure the quality and safety of our products. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards any behaviour that compromises our brand, products, procedures and hygiene standards,” he said.

“The actions of the employees in the video do not reflect the standard practices of our organisation. We are taking this matter extremely seriously and have launched a thorough investigation into the incident. We will leave no box unturned to ensure that our high standards are upheld.

“Our customers’ trust and loyalty are paramount to us, and we are deeply disturbed by this incident. We want to assure our customers that we are investigating this matter thoroughly and will take swift action to address any noncompliance with our standards.”

When he was approached for comment, the store’s supervisor declined to provide contact details for the manager and refused to speak to the media.

The video has elicited mixed reactions from the public.

On Facebook, Michele Neilands said and defended Roman’s Pizza.

“Nobody knows what she was going to use these boxes for. They weren’t going to the pile on the left, so this video doesn’t prove anything,” she said.

Joining the debate, social media user Harris Moon said: “This is crazy because I took a pizza back a few weeks ago because it tasted like dishwashing liquid. My husband said it was the box that smelt off.

“They literally told me I was lying. I was so p*ssed off because my three-year-old ate two slices before I could taste that something was off. Roman’s Pizza, not a good look.”

TimesLIVE