A mum claims her daughter was left vomiting and “traumatised” after she ate a Dairylea Lunchables only to discover it was “writhing with maggots”.
Rachael Stone’s said she bought the snack with husband John Stone, 44, at her local Iceland branch on the Easter weekend for her seven-year-old daughter Poppie as it was her favourite.
The 39-year-old said that the family had been enjoying a BBQ when she heard Poppie scream that her food had “worms” in it before she threw up.
The parents rushed over and said they were horrified to discover that there were maggots in the container, crawling amongst the slices of ham.
She complained to Iceland and product manufacturer Mondelez but claims both parties refused to accept responsibility for the issue.
She claimed that each pointed the finger at the other when it came to accepting responsibility.
However, Mondelez International did issue a £10 gift voucher but Rachel has vowed to never let her daughter eat the product 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 April 15 and said their daughter tucked into it the following day.
Despite it being well within its used-by date - April 30 - and appearing sealed Rachel said the slices of ham were crawling with maggots, leaving Poppie distraught that she might have ate some.
Her parents said they were also worried about Poppie becoming ill as a result.
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."
Rachel said that whilst Iceland reportedly told her that as a branded product “the responsibility lies solely with the manufacturer”.
She said that after an investigation, Mondelez International said they were confident that the “damage did not occur at any of their sites”.
The mum also said they suggested that the size of the maggot larvae suggested “a development period of about four days” which they claimed the product would have already left their facility to the 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."
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 have been approached for comment.
