CHINGFORD: Slug found in supermarket tinned peas (From This Is Local London)

CHINGFORD: Slug found in supermarket tinned peas

9:00am Thursday 1st January 2009 in News By Claire Hack

The slug found by Mr Archer

A WALTHAMSTOW man ended up with more than just one of his five-a-day when he found a slug in a tin of Morrison’s peas.

Scott Archer, 27, of Marlowe Road, poured the store’s own-brand petits pois into a pan and spotted the slimy creature among the contents.

He said: “I used to work for pest control and I have never seen a slug like that before. It’s not a small one and it has a kind of camouflage.

“I took the whole saucepan back to Morrison’s in Chingford, where I bought the peas, and I was told it would be dealt my complaint would be with in a week - this was three weeks ago.”

And Mr Archer also believes his son Danny, four, was traumatised by the incident as he is now afraid to eat tinned vegetables.

“He won’t even eat beans anymore,” he said.

“He’s scared there’s going to be a slug in there.”

Mr Archer was outraged by the store’s eventual offer of a £10 gift voucher and also claims the Chingford branch never returned the saucepan, forcing him to buy new cookware.

In a letter sent to Mr Archer, apologising for the incident, a spokesman for Morrison’s said customers’ health and safety was “of paramount importance”.

The letter added: “Unfortunately, snails are very commonly found in the fields, especially at night when they emerge from the soil into the plants.”

Morrison’s have since apologised again but have offered no further amends.

A spokesman for the store said: “We would like to offer our sincere apologies to Mr Archer for any distress caused. We source our products from reputable suppliers who carry out and maintain stringent quality and hygiene checks.

“We have written to Mr Archer with a letter of apology and a gesture of goodwill.”