Iceland raises 'serious complaint' with Doncaster store over maggots in Spam

The woman, who has asked not to be named, spoke of her horror after opening a tin of Spam which she had received in an online delivery from the firm’s Thorne Road branch.

She said the tin, which was damaged, was full of maggots – and says staff should have spotted the damaged tin before sending it out as part of her order.

The firm has apologised and has now told the woman that it has launched a probe and will be raising a ‘serious complaint’ with the branch.

A message sent to the shopper by Iceland’s customer services department and seen by the Free Press said: “I have raised a serious complaint with our Doncaster store about this including the area management team to look into the review and stocking, stock rotation and quality checking of orders by our picking teams with appropriate action then being taken.”

She wanted to make other shoppers aware in case anyone else has had the same experience.

She said: “It was part of a twin pack, both tins were damaged but I only opened the one tin and found it covered in maggots.

"I spoke with the store manager and was told that only fresh produce has to be checked.

"Other products are not checked before leaving the store. This item was only wrapped together with cardboard and the tins are not completely covered so there’s no reason this product couldn’t be checked."

The woman says she was told the product could have got damaged and contaminated when the shopping was dropped on delivery.

She added: “I explained that from the item becoming contaminated to then turning into maggots is a minimum of a 24 hour process and as my delivery had only been an hour prior to opening the tin this wasn’t possible

"I was offered a refund, however I’m more concerned that this will happen again and I am also concerned at how our online shopping is lacking in checking and handling.

“There’s also the lack of stock checking and rotation within the store especially when checking meat products for damage. I’ve thrown the tin away along with the fresh food that was also with it.

"Never in all the years shopping with Iceland have I ever come across anything like this and shopping myself with a large shop isn’t something I’m always able to do due to being disabled.”

A reply from Iceland’s customer services team, seen by the Free Press, said: “I really am sorry you’ve had this experience.

"I have spoken to my colleague who works with our suppliers directly. She has advised that for the maggots in the product you would need to contact the supplier directly as this is a branded product rather than an Iceland own."

We have contacted Iceland for more information and also contacted the manufacturers of Spam.