Long Island Bakery Accused Of Selling 'Dunkin' Donuts' Labeled As Vegan & Gluten Free
“We are enraged that this trust and respect was broken… this is our nightmare come true."
Miguel Guasch, Tim Douglas / CanvaPro While health struggles influence some people to avoid gluten or animal products, others take a more ethical standpoint — adopting veganism as a means to protect animals and their autonomy. Despite the reason behind their food preferences or habits, gluten-free and vegan products are essential to their daily lives — from restaurant choices to quick and easy grocery finds.
While for some it seems relatively simple and straightforward, many vegan and gluten-free people admit they find belonging in their food choices, joining a community built on respect, inclusivity, and shared values.
When one vegan grocery store made an alarming discovery when picking up “vegan and gluten-free donuts” from a nearby bakery, they were forced to reckon with a scary reality: putting this sacred community at risk.
After noticing a Dunkin' Donuts lookalike donut in their vegan and gluten-free delivery from a nearby bakery, a vegan grocery store was incredibly alarmed.
One Huntington vegan market, known as Cindy’s Snacks, was having a relatively normal day as they prepped to open up their doors for customers. They received a box of “vegan and gluten-free” donuts from a local vegan bakery to stock the case at their store.
Savory Fig, the Long Island vegan bakery, is a small local business that the grocery store trusted — admitting they believed the owner, Michelle Siriani, to be a “highly recommended vegan and gluten-free baker who has claimed to be working as a pastry chef for over 15 years.”
However, when they opened up the box of donuts and noticed a recognizable design, they couldn’t help but be concerned. Cindy’s Snacks’ owners, John Stengel and Indiana “Cindy” Kay, decided to share their accusations on their Instagram page — after a long personal investigation that left them unnerved, disappointed, and in shock.
They immediately reached out to the bakery, questioning the ingredients of the so-called 'vegan and gluten-free' donut before putting it in their case.
What was in the box? A pink, sprinkled, greasy donut that could very easily pass as a Dunkin’ Donuts special — right alongside some of the other donuts the grocery store typically puts in their case. With its interesting color and signature “D” sprinkles, it seemed too concerning to gloss over.
Photo: estefaniavizcaino / Canva Pro
“I [John] immediately became concerned as to why this one donut was decorated differently than all the others,” Stengel wrote in their Instagram post from March 4, “and in such a strikingly similar way to a recognizable chain.”
Just to be safe before digging in deeper, Stengel quickly pulled all of the delivered bakery items off of their shelves and stored them in the back of the store — a “precaution” they felt was necessary for the safety of their customers.
“I raised concerns respectfully, hoping a simple explanation with confirming evidence would clear this up,” he continued. “We [Cindy and I] were not given satisfactory answers nor evidence. At that moment, we knew deep down how bad this was.” Their text to the bakery owner was more than respectful. They simply inquired about the donut and expressed their concerns over the safety of their customers.
“We have so many people with severe daily allergies that shop here,” they wrote in the text. “I’m concerned with the donuts this week and am nervous to put them out. I will keep this conversation between us, but please tell me the truth… I don’t want to kill anyone with a severe allergy.”
After the vegan bakery’s vague answers, an at-home gluten test, and a sprinkle investigation, their 'worst nightmare' became a reality.
The bakery owner’s responses were vague, defending her donuts by alluding to some new ingredients and sprinkles. However, there was too much on the line for these grocery store owners to let that explanation suffice.
“We tried to hold out hope that our trusted fellow small business wasn’t doing something so horrific. We scoured the internet for possible sprinkle dupes… even ordering the ones [they] claimed to use.” Not only were the sprinkles she mentioned not labeled as vegan, but they were clearly not the ones used on the donut from the box — something that became very apparent once they arrived in the mail.
In a last-ditch effort to confirm their suspicions, the grocery store owners ordered an at-home gluten test — one “trusted and used by gluten-sensitive and allergic individuals.” To their dismay, the results from their Instagram post “proved” that “at the very least, the donut… contained substantial amounts of gluten.”
Of course, the owners had no choice but to assume that all of the products she’d given them were untrustworthy. “We have cut all personal and business ties with this person,” they wrote. “We are mortified that we provided any of her products to our customers and our own family.”
Cindy's Snacks is looking into taking legal action against Savory Fig Bakery.
“We want all of our customers and community to know we take this betrayal seriously and are looking into legal action. Most importantly, we want to apologize from the depths of our soul to anyone who unknowingly consumed these products.”
In an updated Instagram post from March 5, made their intentions known to hold Savory Fig Bakery accountable. As their story has gone viral on several social media platforms, and even some local media outlets, they reiterate that this is their main focus.
“We will not be doing any interviews… as we don’t feel this will serve our mission,” they honestly admitted in the post. “We want to keep people safe and call out wrongdoings when we see them. We feel confident we have done that as best we could.”
So, while they work with Food Safety organizations and regulatory bodies to continue an investigation, they want to make it clear that their community is at the forefront of their minds. “We came forward with this information to keep our community of local vegans and those with food allergies safe,” they said.
That’s the most important thing.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a news and entertainment writer at YourTango focusing on pop culture analysis and human interest stories.