'Maggot' found in Tauriko Pak'nSave chook identified as just chicken

The "maggot" that a Bay man claimed he found in a chicken bought from Tauriko Pak'nSave. Photo / Supplied

A maggot that a man claimed he found inside a chicken bought from Tauriko Pak'nSave has been identified as simply, chicken.

Bay of Plenty man Andrew Morris-Vette said he found a maggot inside an Ingham's herb and garlic butterfly chicken bought from the Tauranga supermarket last week.

Morris-Vette said he and his wife had cooked up the frozen chicken for dinner and found what looked like a maggot after finishing their meal. The pair fell ill the next day, he said.

Tauriko Pak'nSave and Ingham's have investigated and found the foreign object was not an insect, pupa or larva.

"It is simply chicken," a Foodstuffs media spokeswoman said.

"Admittedly to the untrained eye it did look odd, but the results are conclusive."

Food safety and biosecurity service AsureQuality undertook the investigation on behalf of Ingham's.

"In this case, the results confirm that there is no case to be had against either Ingham's or Pak'nSave Tauriko," the spokeswoman said.

"It's possible the customer's alleged illness could have been caused by a number of common winter viruses currently doing the rounds."

The results have also been sent to Morris-Vette by Ingham's.

However, Morris-Vette said what he found on his plate certainly looked like a maggot.

"I know what a maggot looks like," he said.

"It certainly looked like a maggot to me and everyone I showed thought so too."

Morris-Vette said he and his wife suffered stomach cramps the day after eating the chicken.

"I don't know if it was that or something else," he said.

"But the timing of it was very good if you know what I mean."

The Bay man said he had nothing against the Tauriko supermarket and would continue to shop there. But he said he was left feeling like he was being brushed off with a $10 refund.

Ingham's Enterprises New Zealand quality manager Sandra Pavajeau said a customer complaint was received on July 23 related to a foreign material found inside one of their products.

The details relating to the complaint have been logged in the company's complaints database and the issue has been investigated by personnel from its quality assurance and production teams.

"Every step in the process was reviewed from production to distribution until the product was delivered to the customer Pak'nSave Tauriko," Pavajeau said.

"All the quality records checks showed compliance to our food safety and quality management systems."

Pavajeau said as part of the investigation, the foreign material was sent to an accredited forensic food laboratory for testing.

She said the results showed the sample was consistent with chicken fibre and did not have any arthropod origin.

"...We remain committed to the production of final products that are wholesome and safe and that we always strive for the highest quality with all Ingham's products," she said.