Vegan slams Dominos for serving him 'plant-based' pizza with real ham

It’s a bete-noire for anyone with a plant-based lifestyle to find themselves accidentally eating something meaty. That potential nightmare became a reality for one disgruntled vegan diner at an Australian Domino’s this week after they allegedly unearthed real ham on top of their pizza. 

Patrick Hukins told Daily Mail Australia that he had a “sinking feeling” as soon as he tasted the supposedly vegan Hawaiian. However, despite suspecting that something was wrong, he was persuaded by staff that there was nothing out of the ordinary, and so he finished the pie. It was only later, when he became ill, that Huskins realized he had eaten real meat. 

In an interview with the paper, Huskins explained: 

“I felt shame and pain for the animal. And felt guilt for having unknowingly consumed a product that goes against my endeavours to reduce my environmental footprint as well as harm to other animals... I was shocked. I felt betrayed. I have been vegan for 4 years, and having eaten an animal against my knowledge or consent has real thrown me off as I feel my values.”

In response to the criticism, a Domino’s spokesperson admitted that the chain was extremely regretful over the error. As they explained:

“We would like to publicly apologise to our customer. This was an inadvertent mistake, which will be used as a learning opportunity for our team members. Domino's has a 100 per cent customer satisfaction guarantee, and each of our team members works hard to deliver meals that meet our customers' requirements, including specific dietary needs.”

Watch Perth Vegan Takes Neighbours To Court Over BBQ Cooking:

The spokesperson went on to add:

“We have specific procedures in place for customers with vegan or allergen requirements, including using fresh gloves and cutting blades for their order. Because of these procedures, we have received positive feedback from customers on our vegan range.” 

“But in a busy store environment we know that mistakes, though uncommon, can happen. Where this is the case, our local store will refund or remake the order as soon as possible.”

Whether this proves a satisfactory outcome for Mr Huskins remains to be seen.