Bandage found in snack packet

10:40am Friday 29th August 2008

A HORRIFIED mother couldn't believe her eyes when she found a bandage in a bag of pork scratchings bought for her seven-year-old daughter.

Sharon Stokes, 23, from Foundry Close, Melksham, was on her way back from her mother's house in Westbury on Monday afternoon when she stopped to buy her daughter Jade Burgess a snack.

She said: "Jade loves pork scratchings so I stopped at the One Stop in Queen's Square to get her a packet of Mr Porky's crisps and started to open them for her.

"I really couldn't believe what I was seeing, it was disgusting.

"There was this long stringy bandage inside that had obviously been through the whole flavouring process as it was brown like the contents of the bag.

"I ran back in the shop and told them and they were as disgusted as I was.

"They told me to contact the firm that sold the crisps immediately, so I got their contact email address from the packet and sent them an email that night."

The worried mum said she couldn't help but think about what could have happened if Jade had opened the crisps herself.

She said: "She could have easily mistaken it for a long, fatty crisp and eaten it and choked.

"Or if another child had bought the packet instead, something could have easily happened to them too.

"I worked as a temp for a food producer for a few weeks so I know that people preparing food should always wear blue gloves.

"I have no idea how this bandage could have got into the packet unless someone wasn't wearing the right protective clothing.

"I don't think Jade would have known the difference between the bandage and a crisp if she had been left to her own devices with the packet."

After ringing the company on Tuesday, Miss Stokes was told by the company to send the pork scratchings back to them.

"They told me that it couldn't have been a bandage, but it was probably a cotton glove," she said.

"They said to send it back to them, but they didn't say what would happen after that."

A spokesman for Red Mill Snack Foods, which manufactures Mr Porky pork scratchings, said: "We operate our factories to the highest possible standards and take any complaint relating to the quality of our products extremely seriously.

"We have been in contact with this particular customer and asked her to return the packet as soon as possible so we can carry out a full investigation."

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