Several Complaints Prompt Investigation Of Long Island Bakery: State

Long Island, NY — It's time to make the donuts.

The state's Department of Agriculture and Markets received several complaints and is conducting a "full investigation" into The Savory Fig, a Suffolk County-based bakery at the center of a controversy after allegations that it sold a regular donut under the guise that it was gluten-free to a grocery, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

The department, which oversees large-scale food production, has jurisdiction over the bakery as "home processor" and is "appropriately registered" as such.

Home processors are exempt from obtaining the state’s Agriculture and Markets Law Article 20-C food processing license and Article 28 retail food store license but to protect public health, are required to register with the state and abide by guidelines, including clearly identifying all allergens like eggs, milk, shellfish, soybeans, tree nuts, and wheat, in the product statement, the department said.

"Ensuring the safety and proper labeling of our food supply is a critical function of the Department, which includes overseeing home processors in New York State," a spokesperson told Patch

"The Department has received several complaints regarding this home processing business and is conducting a full investigation."

Patch has reached out to The Savory Fig for comment.

In an Instagram post, the owners of Cindy Snacks in Huntington, say that on Feb. 23, the owner of The Savory Fig dropped off the baked goods ordered from her, including donuts, "and in the middle of the boxes was the donut in question."

"I immediately became concerned as to why this one donut was decorated differently than all the others and in such a strikingly similar way to a recognizable chain," one of the owners wrote. "I pulled all of the items delivered out of our racks immediately and stored them in the back out of precaution until I could confirm what was or wasn’t happening here."

The sprinkles on the donut were fashioned into little Ds that were colored Dunkin's classic orange and pink colors, according to a photo in the post.

Patch has reached out to Cindy Snacks and Dunkin.

In one of their posts, Cindy Snacks owners say that they will not be conducting any media interviews.

One of the market's owners, who supplied photos, said he raised his concerns "respectfully, hoping a simple explanation with confirming evidence would clear this up" but he and his partner were "not given satisfactory answers nor evidence, and in that moment, knew deep down how bad this was."

"Still trying to hold out hope that our trusted fellow vegan small business wasn’t doing something so horrific, we scoured the internet for possible sprinkle dupes that would make it make sense," he wrote.

They ordered the sprinkles the owner claimed were the ones used, but they are not labeled vegan and they did not match the ones on the donut, he wrote, adding that they then ordered an "at-home gluten test trusted and used by gluten-sensitive and allergic individuals and the donut contained "substantial amounts of gluten."

"We can only assume, given this recognizable logo design, where these donuts really came from and what other ingredients they might contain," he wrote. "We have cut all personal and business ties with this person effective immediately. We are mortified that we provided any of her products to our customers and our own family. We trusted a well-known, highly recommended vegan and gluten-free baker who has claimed to be working as a pastry chef for over 15 years."

In a series of reported texts between he and the owner of The Savory Fig, which he shared on Instagram, he expressed concern over mistakenly selling a donut that could he believed could possibly kill someone with "a severe food allergy."

The owner replied that the donuts were "definitely not Dunkin' Donuts!"

"If you don't wanna put them out, don't! But they are not Dunkin Donuts!" she added.

And when he wrote that he did not mean to insult her, she said that she would send a photo of the ingredients later, and he responded that the sprinkles look like those of Dunkin.

She then exclaims, "I would never do that!"

She later sent him a photo of the sprinkles she says were used, but they are different with multiple colors and spell out the phrase, "Happy Birthday!"