A mum claims her daughter was left vomiting and 'traumatised' after eating a Dairylea Lunchables bought from Iceland - only for the schoolgirl to discover the packet was 'writhing with maggots'. Rachel Stone and her husband John Stone, 44, bought seven-year-old Poppie her favourite snack - a Dairylea ham and cheese Lunchables - from their local Iceland branch on Easter weekend.
The 39-year-old mum says the family had been enjoying a bbq when they heard Poppie scream that she had 'worms' in her food before throwing up. After rushing over to inspect the leftover meat, the parents were horrified to find maggots in the container and crawling over the remaining slices of ham.
The holiday let manager complained to Iceland and product manufacturer Mondelez International but claims both parties refused to accept responsibility for the issue. Despite this, Mondelez International have issued the customer with a £10 gift voucher but Rachel vows never to give her daughter their products again.
Rachel, from Rhuddlan, North Wales, said: "We were having a bbq but my daughter decided that rather than having bbq she just wanted to have a snack of Lunchables. We were sat eating and the next minute we just heard this frightful scream and I heard her shouting 'I've got worms in my food'.
"So we ran over and she was literally spitting everything out and heaving. When we had a look she had obviously eaten the majority of it and it wasn't until she got to the bottom of it that she realised what was there.
"I think it was just two slices of ham stuck together that was left right at the bottom. There were maggots on the meat and in the bottom of the actual tub. It's disgusting.
"I was nearly sick myself but I was more concerned about her because she was in hysterics so I was trying to calm her down. She couldn't stop herself, she was sick on the spot. She was being sick a couple of times."
The parents bought the popular kids snack from Clywed Retail Park, near Rhyl, on 15th April and say their daughter tucked into it the following day. Despite it being well within its used-by date - 30th April - and appearing sealed the slices of ham were crawling with maggots, leaving Poppie distraught that she most likely ate some.
Her parents were also worried about their little girl becoming ill as a result, as she vomited numerous times after finding the bugs. Rachel said: "The first thing I did was Google what happens if you consume them to see if it could cause any real damage or if I needed to take her up to hospital.
"It just advised us to give her plenty of water and keep an eye on her so we did that. But she was crying and just so frightened that she just didn't even want to eat or drink anything after that.
"My husband actually slept downstairs with her that night just in case she was sick again or we needed to take her to hospital." The furious mum complained to both the supermarket and product manufacturer, demanding answers on how this lapse in food standards was allowed to happen.
She claims both parties refused to accept liability and essentially pointed the finger at the other, with Iceland reportedly telling her that as a branded product 'the responsibility lies solely with the manufacturer'. Meanwhile Mondelez International stated that after carrying out a full investigation of their factory they found no pest issue and were confident the 'damage did not occur at any of their sites'.
They also argued that the size of the larvae 'suggests a development period of about four days', at which point they suggest their product would have already left their facility for the Iceland store. Rachel said: "I've had a letter from the people who actually make it and they've just fobbed us off with a £10 voucher to use on more of their products.
"But there's no way I'm buying that product again or giving her anything else from that make - it just isn't good enough. Poppie's totally put off them as well. She won't even eat ham sandwiches anymore.
"The manufacturer hasn't taken responsibility for it basically. They've said once it leaves their factory it's got nothing to do with them. They've said because of the size of the maggots and how long it takes to hatch eggs that it's Iceland's fault basically and that something's happened there.
"But Iceland are also not taking responsibility so I'm stuck in a rut with it at the minute." The mum now vows never to buy products from the brand again or even to shop at that Iceland branch.
She is warning other parents to check their children's food and not blindly trust the use-by dates. Rachel said: "It's bad enough if that happened to an adult but especially to a child, it's not great on their behalf.
"People should be more aware that just because it's got a sell-by date on it and appears sealed doesn't mean it can't happen. You shouldn't have to check in all your packets of food to make sure there's nothing there but I would advise parents to as I certainly am now."
A spokesperson for Mondelez International said: "We are very sorry to hear about Ms Stone’s unpleasant experience. We investigated the matter thoroughly, as we do with all complaints, and our extensive investigations have found no evidence that this has happened within our facilities, nor have we received any other complaints of this nature for this product.
"While we happily provided Ms Stone with a voucher as a goodwill gesture, we are confident that this damage did not occur at any of our sites." Iceland declined to comment.
