Hannah Johnson immediately complained when she realised where the bugs were coming from (Picture: Hannah Johnson/MEN Media)
A mum was left disgusted after realising a ready meal she bought from Aldi for her toddler was infested with bugs.
Hannah Johnson, 31, claimed some of the bugs were still alive and crawled over her kitchen table when she got home.
She said the insects had got into the rest of her big shop, leaving her ‘in shock’.
Hannah, from Cheshire, had been to the supermarket in Holmes Chapel on October 9 and did not realise the unidentified insects had contaminated the 85p Mamia organic bolognese pasta bake she bought for her 23-month-old son Louie.
When she noticed the problem, she immediately contacted Aldi to complain and was offered a full refund for her shop. She also reported the matter to Cheshire East Council, who are now investigating.
‘It was a massive shock,’ said Hannah. ‘I was just in a bit of a rush, and I picked three or four of them up and put them in the trolley.’
Aldi offered Hannah a refund for the pasta bake (Picture: Hannah Johnson/MEN Media)
At the till, Hannah noticed some bugs – which she described as being small, brown and ‘wasp-like’ – on a steak she had picked up. She says she left it with check-out worker.
‘She was mortified, but obviously we didn’t see the full extent of it as it was just one or two of these things,’ said Hannah.
‘I got in the car, and I noticed I had some bugs on my sleeve as well. I shook them off and thought nothing of it until I started unpacking the shopping in the house.
‘As I was unpacking these ready-meals on the side, I noticed some living ones fall off and start crawling across my table. They were all over other my shopping in the bag, so I had to throw loads out, deep clean the house and myself.
‘It wasn’t a nice day. I didn’t want to eat anything after that,’ she added.
Hannah continued: ‘I was worried that someone might not notice, like I hadn’t at first, and God forbid that a child eats it.
‘That call went through to their main customer service line. The person I spoke to was lovely, very apologetic and friendly, but that was the resolution, a five-pound voucher.’
However, on October 11, Aldi offered Hannah £40 in vouchers to cover the cost of her shopping.
Hannah says she cannot identify the insects she found in the pots.
‘I’ve tried to figure it out, but I’m not sure if they’re from the UK or not,’ she said.
‘Some look like larvae, some look like woodlice, and I think it’s more than one species.
‘Some had turned into flies. A lot of them were dead, but some were still living. It was really strange.’
An Aldi spokesperson said: ‘Although very rare, incidents like this can occasionally occur if packaging is damaged at any point before the product is consumed.
‘We have apologised to Ms Johnson for her experience and have offered her a full refund.’
A Cheshire East Council spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm that we have received a complaint from a member of the public and we have visited the store in question and spoken with the customer.
‘We are investigating in conjunction with the primary authority for the store and, therefore, cannot make any further comment.’
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‘Some look like larvae, some look like woodlice, and I think it’s more than one species.’