“We are worried to see this”

(NEXSTAR) – Ah, just like momma used to do!

A customer at an Olive Garden restaurant claims she was recently served a breadstick printed with numbers and letters – a discovery that “worried” Olive Garden itself.

“We are concerned to see this,” an Olive Garden representative told the customer after she posted a photo of her breadsticks on TikTok. “Can you please send an email to [email protected] with your full name and the location you were?”

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The photo, which has been viewed more than 3.5 million times since mid-November, appears to show a single stick of bread with the letters O and K and the number 6 on it. It was also half-eaten, suggesting the diner had eaten part of it has the breadstick before he becomes aware of the alleged anomaly.

Several viewers offered possible explanations for the lettering, with some claiming to have inside knowledge of the breadstick making process.

“It comes from the plastic bag they come in,” said a self-described Olive Garden employee, echoing the theories of several other restaurant employees. “And if they sit in the freezer for a while, that can happen.”

Apparently it’s not an isolated case either. Some viewers said they had the same experience on previous visits. And a photo of a similarly printed breadstick was also shared on Reddit in 2013.

Olive Garden was not available to respond to a request for additional information about how such markings may have been transferred to the breadsticks.

In any case, Olive Garden appears to have attempted to resolve the matter with the affected customer. In a follow-up post on TikTok, the guest diner shared a screenshot of an email she allegedly received from the company informing her that she had been given a $100 gift card for her troubles.

“Thank you Olive Gardens,” the TikTok user wrote in an on-screen message.

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Many viewers praised Olive Garden’s move, calling it “good service” and an example of how “customers should be taken care of.” However, some others seemed to draw a very different lesson from the incident.

“When I went there tomorrow there were letters on my breadsticks,” one commenter joked.

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