'Artisan' bakery fires worker for complaining that there are bugs in the flour

A man who was head baker for a Queens business that supposedly sells "delicious," "all-natural" breads and cakes around town says he was fired in July for refusing to make dough from bug-infested flour. Stefan Fischer, a 30-year pro from Germany who moved from California to take this job, says he was "immediately terminated" after discovering insects in Bakery of New York's 3,000-pound flour silo in Long Island City. According to the lawsuit, he sent his supervisor a picture and explained the next steps he was taking — tossing the flour, first of all, then getting the silo professionally cleaned.

To Fischer's surprise, co-owner Marco Avila allegedly instructed him to use the tainted flour anyway, but only for multigrain dough since it could "pass unnoticed if concealed in crunchy bread." Fischer said no way, and he alleges he was promptly relieved of his master-baker duties as a result. He claims in the suit to have witnessed other "unsanitary, unhealthy, and possibly unlawful" health violations, such as open dairy containers, dirt on the floors, and uncovered garbage cans.

Bakery of New York doesn't list where its products (pretzels, danishes, scones, croissants, muffins, and loafcakes, among others) are available, but does promise they're "made one at a time using only all-natural ingredients, with no preservatives or chemicals of any kind," then resold in many of the city's finest grocery stores, cafés, and hotels.

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