Avatar photo

By Faizel Patel

Senior Digital Journalist


WATCH: Roman’s Pizza clears air on employee cleaning used boxes on viral video

Social media was in a frenzy after a video emerged of a Roman’s Pizza employee seemingly wiping pizza boxes so they could be reused.


Fast food franchise Roman’s Pizza said it is investigating the circumstances surrounding an incident regarding the reuse of old pizza boxes at the Mayfield Square Shopping Centre in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni.

This comes after a video was widely circulated on social media about the service at the franchised store.

In the video, a staff member can be cleaning the dirty boxes which previously had pizzas inside.

Watch: Roman’s Pizza employee cleans used pizza boxes

Roman’s Pizza responds

Roman’s Pizza said it is addressing concerns raised by customers after they saw the video on social media.

“We want to assure our valued customers and the public that this is not a practice within our brand. 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.”

ALSO READ: WATCH: Durban woman horrified after finding rat baked into bread loaf

The company said it takes pride in customer service and “adheres 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. The actions of the employees in the video do not reflect the standard practices of our organisation.

”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 non-compliance with our standards,” Romans Pizza said.

ALSO READ: Residents warned about food safety after illegal peanut butter factory raid [VIDEO]

South Africans react

The video prompted a number of social media users to share their disgust about the incident.

“This person intentionally wants to kill this business just by this single act, or just maybe this has been happening for far too long. We need a clear explanation. This is not just enough by condemning it via the statement released. We need a thorough audit,” @mr_charleseze said on X.

Another user, @lekoloanemanam2, said the incident is “one of the many reasons I stopped eating fast food, it’s now been nine years”.

ALSO READ: Chiloane ‘heartbroken’ after 3 pupils die from suspected food poisoning, another from rat poison

Read more on these topics

Ekurhuleni food pizza

For more news your way

Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.