Woolworths customers disgusted by what they found inside strawberries
Some Woolies customers have complained about disgusting finds inside strawberries bought from the supermarket giant in recent days.
A number of disgruntled shoppers have taken to the Woolworths Facebook page to share their rather unpalatable experience.
One woman said she bought two punnets on Sunday, but had to discard them after cutting the fruit up and finding bugs and mould inside.
“Luckily for my daughter she cut her first strawberry and this is what she found. She then checked a few others and they are mouldy,” she said, adding that her daughter was now too scared to eat the other strawberries.
“Not sure if I have kept my (receipt) though to get a refund. Thought you should know,” she wrote.
Another customer seemed to have a similar complaint on Monday.
“Hi Woolies, Thank you for the lovely visitor found in my freshly bought strawberries,” she joked, sharing a laughing emoji.
The post included a picture of what appears to be mould and a maggot inside the strawberries.
At least one other Facebook user commented suggesting they experienced the same thing recently while another person acknowledged the inevitability of the situation.
“What? A grub in fruit? What next bruises or blemishes? Unbelievable,” they joked.
A third customer in Victoria wrote to the supermarket complaining about the customer service when she tried to return mouldy strawberries.
“Gave me my money back after patronising me and making me feel like it was something I did,” she wrote Monday.
“I then went to their berries display and counted over 7 packets of mouldy (strawberries),” she said, sharing photos of the strawberry packets.
Weather in Queensland having ‘short-term impact’ on strawberries
Woolworths was quick to respond to the customer’s complaint. “We take product quality seriously so we're just as concerned to see this,” a spokesperson said. “We understand how this can be quite frustrating.”
The supermarket also responded to the two other complaints, apologising to each woman and vowing to look into each instance further.
“We're sorry to see this in your strawberries as we aim to have the freshest fruit available in stores,” a Woolies spokesperson said.
In a statement to Yahoo News Australia, Woolworths said weather conditions in Queensland were causing some issues with strawberry suppliers.
“Due to the extended hot, dry and windy conditions in Queensland, we’ve seen a short-term impact on the quality of strawberries,” a supermarket spokesperson said.
“We expect this to improve as we transition from the Queensland to Victorian strawberry seasons.”
It’s considered unsafe to eat soft fruits like strawberries when they appear mouldy because the mould could easily penetrate into the soft flesh of the fruit, and if eaten, could cause allergic reactions and respiratory problems.
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