Shopper finds beetle in his spinach

UNHAPPY . . . Dave MacDougall says he found a beetle in his Tesco meal

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A DISGRUNTLED businessman who found a beetle in a Tesco takeaway meal was offered a £5 voucher in compensation.

Dave MacDougall from Grasscroft complained to Tesco at Greenfield after finding the black beetle in a carton of premier spinach - part of one of the store’s £10 “meal deals”.

Mr MacDougall (40), an IT expert and former chairman of Saddleworth Round Table, was given back £2.60 and a £5 voucher to be spent in the store.

He said: “I’m not impressed with Tesco’s response. The meal deal was £10 so in my eyes they are £2.40 light on even refunding the meal. Tesco asked me to meet a customer services representative and he kept the beetle and the packaging.

“I’ve had no verbal response at all from them, but they sent a letter without a telephone number.”

The letter, from Lucy Watson, Tesco customer services manager, said: “We are very sorry you found a beetle in your Tesco finest cream spinach. I appreciate how upsetting this must have been. I hope this did not cause you too much inconvenience.

“We try very hard to make sure we produce all our products to a very high standard so it’s very disappointing when a customer has cause to complain about any of our products.”

Mr MacDougall said: “I peeled the plastic film off the container and put it straight in the microwave. The beetle was in the food.

“I have always thought highly of Tesco and their services but this has tarnished my opinion of the chain. I don’t feel the complaint has been dealt with in the correct manner,” he added.

A Tesco spokesman said: “Following an investigation we are confident the beetle couldn’t have been in the spinach when the product was sealed, so it is not clear how this could have happened.”

The store wouldn’t reveal the supplier or species of the insect.