Mum's 'abhorrent' find in Woolworths veggies while feeding baby
A Woolworths customer has lashed out at the supermarket after finding a slug inside a packet of Woolworths brand frozen broccoli and cauliflower.
Taking a stab at the “quality control” from the supermarket giant, the mother said she was concerned after almost feeding the slug to her baby boy.
“A slug was hidden amongst frozen vegetables (cauliflower) that was being fed to my eight-month-old son,” she wrote online.
After calling Woolworths customer care to report the slug, the mum said she was offered a refund on the purchase price, and “when I pushed further a $20 Woolworths gift voucher (perhaps to buy more pest ridden produce)”.
‘Blatant disregard and care for customers’ health’
The mother said she would be spending the evening monitoring her son for signs of illness as she is aware of the potentially deadly side effects of ingesting slugs and was unhappy with the response from the supermarket giant.
“Woolworths shrugged it off because nothing seemed to have happened as of yet..
“This blatant disregard and care for customers’ health and wellbeing is abhorrent. Not at all good enough,” she wrote.
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What happens if you ingest a slug
Ingestion of snails or slugs may cause eosinophilic meningitis due to the Angiostrongylus cantonensis parasitic worm of rats, also known as Rat Lung Worm.
The larvae of this parasite may be ingested by snails and slugs then if eaten by humans the larvae can cause infective eosinophilic meningitis, according to a report by the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network.
The immune reaction caused by the dead worms results in serious inflammation and damage in the nervous system and brain, and can lead to symptoms including headache, vomiting, blurred vision and fever.
More severe symptoms can include paralysis of the legs, bowel and bladder dysfunction, seizures, coma and, although rare, death.
In 2010 19-year-old Australian Sam Ballard ate a slug at a birthday party on a dare from mates.
After spending 420 days in a coma after contracting eosinophilic meningoencephalitis - a strand of meningitis - he was left paralysed and suffered from seizures until he died eight years later.
Woolworths responds
“At Woolworths, we take food safety and quality very seriously. We’re aware of the customer’s report and are following the matter up with our frozen vegetable supply partner,” a Woolworths spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia.
“They have a robust quality system in place to ensure the integrity of the product, so we’re keen to understand how this could have happened.
“This appears to be an isolated incident, as we're unaware of any further reports of a similar nature about frozen vegetable products at this time.
“We’ve apologised to the customer for their experience and offered a voucher and refund.”
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