Starbuck Korea issued a public apology on Thursday over its summer giveaway bags that contained carcinogenic chemicals and said that it would offer free drinks, or other products, as compensation to customers.
“We deeply apologize to our customers who are disappointed in us for the recent issue [surrounding the giveaway bags],” the company said in a statement, The Korea Herald reported.
Starbucks Korea ran a test on its “Summer Carry Bag,” a picnic bag given to customers who bought 17 drinks between May and July, after an unidentified FITI Testing & Research Institute employee posted online that it contained formaldehyde.
Formaldehyde is an industrially produced and naturally occurring chemical that has a pungent smell and is flammable. According to the National Cancer Institute, exposure to high levels of formaldehyde can cause myeloid leukemia and rare cancers….