An Inverness student said she was “grossed-out” after discovering “hundreds of bugs” inside a pasta bag in her Asda food delivery.
Louisa Williams told the P&J she spotted something “horrendous” while unpacking two weeks’ worth of shopping.
The 22-year-old felt forced to throw out the full £90 delivery after the discovery. Asda has offered her a £10 voucher
Ms Williams, who stays at the Ness Castle development, got her groceries hours late due to the snow on Wednesday, November 20.
She said: “The delivery from Asda arrived very late and by that time the customer service line was closed.
Inverness woman shocked by ASDA pasta bag with hundreds of bugs
“When I was unpacking the stuff, I saw the bag of pasta and I thought it looked dusty inside.
“I then realised there were hundreds of bugs inside the bag.”
Ms Williams, who studies canine and feline fertility and training, explained she put all her shopping outside her house because she was “grossed-out”.
She said: “I threw everything out because it had been amongst the bugs, and I just got the fear.
“I wasn’t taking the risk.”
She phoned Asda customer service the next morning.
She said: “They said; ‘we’ll give you a £5 voucher for that we’re very sorry’ and I said no because I wanted to raise the complaint properly as it was gross.
“At that point they said they would get a supervisor to call me back, but I heard nothing for two weeks.”
‘These things happen’
She called them back today, Monday, December 9, but claims ASDA told her they could only offer a £10 voucher.
“The person on the line said, ‘I don’t know, these things happen’.
“I did not think that was a good answer. I have reported the incident to the council’s environmental health office.”
She told the P&J she posted photos and videos of the bag on Facebook and a few people commented saying they had the same experience with Asda.
The student explained she is not after the compensation but wants the supermarket giant to acknowledge the problem.
She concluded: “I want them to acknowledge that this was really bad and to make sure that wherever the error happened, they spot it.
“I don’t want a £10 voucher; I want them to deal with the problem.
“It could have been a big situation, especially for someone who may not notice
“I really don’t think I will be getting a refund for the rest of the stuff, but for them to deal with the issue is the most important thing really.”
ASDA apologises to Inverness customer
An Asda spokesperson: “We have sold more than 3m packets of pasta tubes during the last 12 months and have not received any complaints of this nature.
“We would like to apologise to Ms Williams for the service she has received, which falls below our expectations.
“We would always encourage customers that spot something that doesn’t seem right with a product to return it immediately.”
Highland Council EHO investigating bugs incident
The Highland Council has confirmed its Environmental Health Office has received the report.
The local authority has opened an investigation into the incident.
Conversation