"I Pick It Up If It Looks Fine"... Busan Bakery Sparks Outrage After Delivering Bread in Street-Found Styrofoam Boxes

[Financial News] A bakery owner in Busan has sparked a hygiene controversy after it was revealed that he had been picking up discarded Styrofoam boxes from the street and reusing them for parcel packaging.
In a recent post on the social media platform Thread, the bakery owner, identified as A, wrote, "When you run a bakery, there are surprisingly many times when you need an ice box. If I see a box that looks fine, I just can't walk past it."
A video released along with the post showed A checking the condition of a Styrofoam box left in an alley before taking it back to the shop.
He explained, "If it's clean, I pick it up first. When I send a parcel, I wipe it with alcohol and put the contents in a plastic bag before shipping it." In other words, he has been packing bread in Styrofoam boxes picked up from the street and sending them to customers by parcel delivery.
Once the practice became known, online users voiced strong concerns about hygiene. Critics pointed out that there was no way to know what had previously been stored in the discarded Styrofoam boxes, and that it was difficult to verify contamination even if they appeared clean on the outside. Others warned that wiping the surface with alcohol alone could not be assumed to remove all sources of contamination.
As the controversy grew, A admitted wrongdoing and apologized. He said, "As someone who sells food, I should have thought more carefully about how consumers would perceive the process of selecting and using packaging materials, but I failed to do so. In particular, I am sorry to those who felt uneasy about the hygiene of our products because of the phrase 'recycled ice boxes from the street.'"
He added, "From now on, I will use new products that are suitable for food delivery. For parcel shipments, I will use only new insulated foil boxes. I am sorry to everyone who trusted our bread and made a purchase, and to those who were disappointed and worried. I will not take this matter lightly and will carefully review our packaging and hygiene management once again."
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