A parent thought this doggie treats were actually biscuits for kids. Photo / Facebook
A parent thought this doggie treats were actually biscuits for kids. Photo / Facebook
A mum has inadvertently fed her children pet food after she filled their school lunch box with dog biscuits.
Tania Toomey said she purchased a bag of 'Scooby Snacks' choc friendly carob biscuits from her local Woolworths store in Sydney but had no idea they were for mutts not rug-rats.
The front of the pack does say "pet food only" but, it seems, Ms Toomey is not the only parent to get confused.
She posted on Woolworths' Facebook page claiming she made the error at her local store in Sydney's inner west.
"I bought these from the biscuit isle [sic] next to the Tiny Teddies at Woolies in North Strathfield," she wrote.
"I put in lunch boxes and kids came home that afternoon and said 'yuck they are disgusting'.
"On closer inspection they are DOG treats. It does say that it is pet food only - human friendly but not recommended! BE CAREFUL the store is very disorganised."
Ms Toomey said she tried to call a Woolworths customer service number but was told all she could do was fill in a feedback form.
"Terrible and disgraceful, not to mention dangerous!"
Ms Toomey's Facebook post to Woolworths has more than 6000 replies. Photo / Facebook
Woolworths has insisted to news.com.au the products are only stocked in the pet food section of the store and not next to the Tiny Teddies.
Aside from the pet food declaration, the front of the Scooby Snacks pack also says the biscuits are individually wrapped in "doggy bags" but you have to go to the back to see a note saying "treat your pet as you train them."
The product is shaped like dog bones and the pack says they are designed to "support skin and coat health".
It's fair to say that among the 7000 replies on the post, few have much sympathy for Ms Toomey's predicament pointing out the pack did say it was pet food.
"Probably better than most snack food. Especially after chasing people dressed as ghosts," said one.
"Now those kids are digging holes scratching behind their ears," said another.
But some have come to her defence and have pointed out the packaging, with its large cartoon character Scooby Doo, does seem custom designed to attract the attention of kids.
Woolworths sell two 'Scooby' branded products. The one on the right is for pets, the one on the left may actually be for humans. Source / Woolworths
The ingredients seem harmless enough mostly consisting of wheat flour, margarine, carob, oats and milk.
Ms Toomey is not the only person to feed their kids Scooby Snacks dog biscuits.
In June, parents shopping at a New Zealand supermarket made the same mistake.
Schools and kindergartens in Whanganui were asked to be on the lookout for Scooby Snacks after the local supermarket put the doggie treats next to the chips, the Herald reported..
"I got these today not knowing they were dog food [and] tried giving one to my one year old," one parent posted on Facebook.
Another said her daughter turned her nose up at the biscuit.
"She took one bite and said, 'this is rubbish'.
"I looked at the packet closely and gasped, 'Oh no, I am so sorry. I just fed you dog food'."
In June, a spokeswoman for retailer Pak 'n Save said the pet food was display in its 'aisle of value' area and the bin was clearly labelled as 'pet treats' but some customers mistook them for human food.
"The store relocated the product to the pet food aisle, and has since decided to withdraw the product from sale and return it to the supplier," she said.
"On reflection, we can see how the cartoon characters on the packaging might be confusing."
Part of the confusion could also be down to Woolworths selling another Scooby branded product.
Scooby Doo Iddy Biddy fruit snacks, made by a company called Hotshots, are meant for humans and with a giant cartoon dog in the front do look very similar to the Scooby Snacks dog treats.
