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A man in Türkiye’s capital, Ankara, has filed a legal complaint against the officials of a U.S.-based soft drink company after discovering a dead bee inside a bottle of soda he purchased from a local market.
Murat Kubilay, a resident of the Sincan district, recently bought a 1-liter plastic bottle of cola from a neighborhood store. He placed the unopened bottle in the refrigerator at home. Later that evening, his wife, Yasemin Kubilay, noticed a yellow object inside the bottle while preparing dinner. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was a dead bee.
Following the incident, the Kubilay family, through their lawyer Mehmet Azar, filed a complaint with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against the soda company’s officials, citing violations of hygiene standards.
“Thankfully, we didn’t open it,” Murat Kubilay told Anadolu Agency (AA). “I had gone to the market to buy drinks as usual. I picked up two bottles of cola, paid at the register and put them in the fridge to cool. My wife was going to serve them with dinner. She was the one who first noticed the bee. Since it was a well-known brand, we were naturally surprised and wondered how such a thing could happen. My wife contacted the brand through Instagram and WhatsApp, but we didn’t receive a serious response. That’s when our family lawyer got involved and now legal proceedings are underway.”
Yasemin Kubilay said she saw the bee just as she was about to serve the drinks. “I thought, ‘How could this happen?’ I couldn’t believe a global brand could allow such negligence. I asked my husband if he had noticed it while buying the drinks, but he didn’t. Thankfully, we hadn’t opened it yet.”
The next day, she said, she contacted the company through its social media accounts but received no meaningful response. “Customer service said this couldn’t happen and requested the bottle to be inspected at the factory. That was impossible because opening it would destroy the evidence. I sent them photos and the serial number, but we still feel they did not take it seriously. Since it posed a risk to public health, we decided to pursue legal action.”
“They could have faced a life-threatening reaction,” said lawyer Mehmet Azar. He added that the Kubilays approached him after discovering the bee and expressed concern about potential health risks. “Our clients could have an allergic reaction if they drank the soda without noticing the bee, which could have been life-threatening. This is why we are seeking legal action to hold the company accountable for what we consider a serious public health risk.”
Azar said the case will involve both consumer protection laws and inspections conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. “We will ensure that this negligent behavior, which endangers public health, does not go unpunished,” he said.
