A South Australian shopper says she was left “horrified” after opening a can of Coles brand red kidney beans and discovering what appeared to be part of a dead rat inside.
“I nearly went to touch it and take it out, but then I thought, ‘no, that looks a bit strange’.”
Whitburn said the object inside the tin looked very much like “rat remains”.
“I looked at it and could see what was a foot, or a claw,” she said.
“It was pretty disgusting – you could also see hair and bone.”
Whitburn said the beans were bought from a Coles store in Mount Barker, in the Adelaide Hills, earlier the same day.
Whitburn said she and her sister reported the find to Coles and SA Health the following day on Sunday.
“I am absolutely horrified and worried that other cans will have the other remains of the animal,” she said.
A Coles spokesperson told nine.com.au it was investigating the incident and had apologised to the customer.
“Food safety is paramount at Coles,” the Coles spokesperson said in a statement.
“We are concerned to hear about this customer’s experience and discovery with this product, and we are currently investigating with our supplier.
“Our suppliers take great care when processing all our products and include equipment and teams that conduct raw material inspections, pest control and quality checks during processing.
“We have apologised to the customer for their experience and have commenced an immediate investigation with our supplier.”
Whitburn’s find comes after another similar incident involving an Adelaide customer in December last year.
The customer shared a video on TikTok of what they claimed was a “baby rat” they had discovered in a Coles brand of chick peas.
(9 news)
