LI Grocery Eyes Possible Holes In Baker's Story Over Donut Ingredients

LONG ISLAND, NY — It seems to be a story with some holes in it.

A Long Island vegan and gluten-free market has accused a bakery of giving them a regular donut similar to those of the Dunkin' chain for sale, prompting them to file a complaint with the state, according to published reports.

In an Instagram post, the owners of Cindy Snacks in Huntington, say that on Feb. 23, the owner of The Savory Fig, a Suffolk County-based bakery, 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.

The Savory Fig's owner could not be immediately reached for comment.

Patch has reached out to Dunkin.

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 do not even 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!"

The owners later claimed that they filed complaints with a supervisor of Food Safety and Inspection at the state's Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Patch has reached out for comment.

News of the allegations about The Savory Fig's donuts sparked an outcry on social media, with posters trolling the business' Facebook page.

One poster called the allegations, "sad" and "horrible," while another chastised the owner, writing: "As a mother of children who have allergies, I hope you think twice when selling misrepresented products. People can die from consuming their allergens."

Yet others poked fun saying that the comments did not disappoint, and that the business "runs on Dunkin," making reference to the chain's slogan.