Asda: Blackburn woman ‘sickened’ by cat food covered in maggots and flies

Leeanne Whittaker purchased 40 pouches of Felix cat food from the supermarket in Lower Audley Retail Park in Grimshaw Park, Blackburn.

The 47-year-old said she felt “sickened” after opening the box of cat food and seeing around “200 flies and maggots”.

In photos submitted to the Lancashire Telegraph, you can see the pouches of food and cardboard container covered in the critters.

'Maggots and flies' on Felix cat food (Image: Leeanne Whittaker)

Leeanne requested a refund for the ‘As Good as It Looks Doubly Delicious Meat Selection in Jelly’ cat food but was initially refused.

She said: “I was sickened when I first opened the box. I think Asda and Purina need to check their boxes before customers buy them.

“I rang customer services but they refused to give me a refund and wouldn’t let me speak to a manager.

“I won’t be buying cat food from them anymore and will also be closely checking food for human consumption in the future.”

Nestlé Purina PetCarePurina, which owns Felix, has apologised to Leeanne. 

A spokesperson said: “We were very sorry to hear about your readers’ experience with her recent Felix purchase. We try really hard to make sure that the products that our feline friends love always reach them in perfect condition. 

“Stringent safety and quality procedures during manufacturing and the packing of our pet food, as well as the many, many checks that take place throughout the entire production process, are all in place so that our products are perfect when they leave our factories.

“Sometimes, unfortunately, the food inside our heat-sealed pouches can be exposed to air from tiny holes in the seal, which is most likely how this kind of spoilage occurred. Occasionally this might happen if a seal isn’t made completely air-tight during packing, although this will normally be detected before any pouches reach pet owners.  

Cat food covered in maggots (Image: Leeanne Whittaker)

“Pouches are also transported and stored in a number of different areas through our partners within the supply chain before they reach the shelf in stores – this means we can’t always be certain how and where the integrity of the seal may have been compromised.

“We have contacted the consumer and will work with her to look into this individual case more closely, as well as offering to replace the spoiled product.”

READ MORE: Man finds Lidl egg carton ‘chewed by a rodent’

Earlier this month another supermarket, Lidl, made headlines after a man claimed to have found an egg carton that was "chewed by a rodent".

Matt Gartside, from Colne, was shopping at the Lidl in Valley Road in the town when he stumbled across the damaged egg carton, which appears to have been chewed.

Matt brought the issue up with members of staff and was then banned from the budget supermarket for his "behaviour towards store colleagues".

Asda declined to provide an official comment but said Leeanne's refund has been processed and apologised that she hadn’t already been informed about this.