Kaohsiung: Taiwan Railway Corp. has issued a public apology following an incident where a passenger discovered a cockroach in a bento box, stating that it will cooperate with a subsequent investigation and improve hygiene standards.

According to Focus Taiwan, the incident was brought to public attention by a Threads user named Thomas Lai, who shared three photos of the bento box with a cockroach next to the rice. Lai mentioned that the bento box was purchased at the High Speed Rail's Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung and criticized the company for not maintaining quality service in both its bento offerings and railway operations.

The state-owned company announced that it had reached out to Lai and that officials would visit him personally to extend a formal apology. In response to the incident, the Kaohsiung Department of Health dispatched personnel to inspect the bento store and the facility where the lunch boxes were produced. The department reported finding no traces of cockroaches but has taken a random sample of the same type of bento box for additional testing.