A man who choked on a bone "the size of a poker chip" while eating Aldi chicken bites had to be saved by his wife. Jack Callard was looking forward to tucking into the katsu chicken tenders on Tuesday night, but has now been put off the product for life.
The 35-year-old, from Leith, cooked the meal in his air fryer but while on his last tender a bone got lodged in his throat and he started coughing. Luckily his wife was able to whack him on the back until it came up.
The pair were astounded to see the size of the bone that nearly choked Jack, and have slammed Aldi for their lack of compassion following the frightening incident, Edinburgh Live reports.
Pension advisor Jack said: "My wife and I purchased the katsu chicken tenders from Aldi in Musselburgh, we were looking forward to having them for dinner. We cooked the tenders in the air fryer and served them up - and it was properly cooked too, they were in the air fryer for ages.
"We added the sauce from the packet on top of the tenders and proceeded to start our dinner. I was literally on the last tender when I felt something tough between my teeth I tried to break it down but it got stuck in my throat, I started coughing and my wife proceeded to hit my back when this huge bone the size of poker chip flew out my mouth. We could not believe it."
"I'm still in shock. We checked the packaging and couldn't see anything about it referring to bones," Jack said. "Although it might have it on there in the most tiniest of fine print." A spokesperson for Aldi said that chicken products can contain bones, and this is highlighted on the pack.
Jack added: "I was shocked by the lack of compassion, all they said was 'We're very sorry to hear to this' and there's no acknowledgement of someone possibly choking on something."
"I was still unable to see this warning, it really left me with the a bone to pick. I certainly will not be buying this product again as it was anything but tender."
An Aldi spokesperson said: "Although rare, bones can sometimes be present in chicken products and this is clearly highlighted on the packaging. We’ve apologised to Mr Callard for his experience with this product and have offered him a full refund.”
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