Tesco shopper horrified as 'dead rodent foetus' found INSIDE iceberg lettuce

A shopper was left “sick to her stomach” after what appeared to be the was found she was about to have with her lunch.

Georgia Rizzi, 34, had bought the romaine lettuce from Extra in Chichester, West Sussex, to have in a wrap with a friend, visiting with her young daughter. When she opened it she was hit by a vile smell and, when she shook the vegetable, what looked like a dead baby rat fell out onto the counter. Revulsed, Georgia said she felt like crying as she had nearly served the food to her friend and 18-month-old daughter.

READ MORE:

She said: “I felt absolutely sick to my stomach, the smell was overwhelming. When I shook it into the sink, to my absolute horror a dead baby rat fell out.

“I had no idea there was anything in there from outside the packaging and didn't notice when I broke a little bit from the top to give to my rabbit, Mochi. When I took the lettuce out and opened it up the smell hit me first, and then I could see there was something between the leaves. At first I thought it was a tomato, as it looked red and squishy.

“The thought I not only nearly ate it myself, but nearly served it to my friend and her young child was horrifying. As silly as it may sound, I just wanted to burst into tears.”

Georgia later returned the lettuce to the store and was refunded. She added she now wants an apology from the nationwide chain.

She said: “I wouldn't want this or worse to happen to somebody else. At the very least I would like an apology from Tesco, assurances as to what they are doing about it, and to be honest I want to be compensated for the distress that it has caused. Always check your products – it's so important to wash fresh fruit and veg.”

The exact nature of the contaminant has yet to be confirmed, but Tesco has now launched an investigation. A spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear about this. We work closely with our suppliers to ensure there are robust quality procedures in place, and our lettuce is thoroughly checked throughout the growing, harvesting and packing process. We have spoken with the customer, provided a refund and our technical team is fully investigating the potential cause.”

Last year an woman was left disgusted after she ordered a steak at a - and with it. The diner, from the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, visited a steakhouse with her husband and son on November 10.

The family headed out for a "nice meal" but were disappointed after the mum allegedly found live in her steak. She told the restaurant offered her a replacement meal but she refused it as she was "grossed out".