Clayhall mother ‘violently sick’ after finding grasshopper insect in salad
A Clayhall mother-of-two was ‘violently sick’ in front of her family after discovering a grasshopper-like insect in a Tesco salad she had bought.
Anjala Sharma, 41, had prepared a meal for her son, 6, daughter, 8, and her 27-year-old sister when she saw the insect in late November.
“It was still alive and it was jumping around,” said Mrs Sharma. “I was violently sick because I had it on my plate at the time. My sister was retching too.
“We had the mixed salad, so I put it in a bowl and onto my plate. When I was about take a mouthful that is when I saw it.
“None of us can eat salad now – nothing like this has ever happened to me before.
“The children will not go anywhere near any kind of leafy salad. I am really surprised that something of that size got into a salad.”
After capturing the insect, Mrs Sharma trapped the “five to seven inch long” creature in a plastic container for 24 hours, before taking it back to Tesco the next day.
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Mrs Sharma admits she still shops at the Tesco in Cranbrook Road, Barkingside, but refuses to buy salad from the store.
The family received a letter along with a £15 voucher from the store to apologise for the incident.
And Mrs Sharma also received £15 after returning the insect and the salad to the store the following day after making the discovery.
“We got a really feeble letter with a £15 [voucher] card, so I wrote a letter back saying it was not very sincere. I am so angry about it.
“I am absolutely disgusted by the response.”
A Tesco spokesman said the supermarket chain were taking Mrs Sharma’s issue “seriously” and hoped the “goodwill gestures” showed this.
“We set ourselves very high standards and we are working with our supplier to find out how this happened,” said the spokesman.
“We’re sorry to hear that the customer was disappointed with our response, and hope that the goodwill gestures we have offered show we are taking the matter seriously.”
