Foodstuffs recalls garlic bread after shopper claims rat’s foot found inside

Foodstuffs has recalled a line of garlic bread after claims a rat's foot was found in a loaf.

Foodstuffs has initiated a nationwide recall of garlic bread after a mother lodged a complaint that a rat’s foot was contained in a loaf she bought at the Te Awamutu Pak’nSave.

Shannon Bellman told the Herald that the foot still had fur on it when she plucked it from the mouth of her 10-month-old son.

Bellman’s son and 5-year-old daughter were both eating the bread when she allegedly made the stomach-churning discovery.

She said her son had a weakened immune system and had suffered from an upset stomach after eating the garlic bread.

In a post on the store’s Facebook page, they said: “Immediately after the customer got in touch, the store team took the batch of garlic bread off the shelves straight away, advised the supplier ... and a thorough investigation was immediately initiated.”

A Te Awamutu Pak'NSave customer says she found a rat's foot in a garlic bread packet.

Foodstuffs then announced they would be recalling the same batch of garlic bread products from all shelves of all Pak’nSave, New World, Four Square and Gilmours & Trents.

“Together with the supplier, Ministry of Primary Industries and NZ Food Safety, we’re working with urgency to get to the bottom of what happened here.”

The incident at the Te Awamutu Pak’nSave comes a month after other supermarkets across the country came under fire for mouse and rat infestations.

A Countdown Dunedin store was forced to temporarily close its doors in February after pictures emerged of rats in the deli section of the supermarket.

Pest controllers caught 13 rats in the store over a 48-hour period.

On February 13, a customer at Pak’nSave Lincoln Rd in West Auckland shared a video of a mouse running along the floor.

Speaking to the Herald, she claimed she saw it running from near the bakery section.

Foodstuffs has recalled a garlic bread product after a rat's foot was found in packet at a Te Awamutu Pak'nSave. Photo / supplied

“I walked up to the staff member and told them there was a mouse running around on the floor. She grabbed a box and tried to catch it but it kept getting away,” Kelly said.

“This was disgusting that it was inside the store. We saw it running from the bakery section and made its way to where the shampoo aisle is in the middle of the store.”

A day later, another shopper shared videos of pigeons roosting on shelves at Grey Lynn Countdown in Auckland.

The shopper, who didn’t want to be named, said she had seen pigeons and other birds pecking holes in produce and clambering over food at Grey Lynn Woolworths multiple times in the past year, and as recently as last week.

“It’s bloody filthy,” she told the Herald.

“I mean, it’s pretty unsavoury. There are hygiene issues here. I think Countdown [Woolworths] needs a bloody stick over the knuckles, frankly.”