Banbury woman criticises supermarket after breaking two teeth on nail in beef
A Banbury woman has complained to the Food Standards Agency after breaking two teeth on a nail that was packed in beef bought at a town supermarket.
The woman, who prefers not to be named, is particularly angry since the piece of metal, returned to the store when she went to complain, was then lost.
Sainsbury has apologised to her for the ‘rare occurrence’ and says it is raising the issue with its supplier.
She bought the beef from the Oxford Road store to make Fajitas on March 12.
"I served the food and I broke two teeth. I found a 2cm metal rod in the meat. I found this so distressing as I had fractured two of my back teeth,” she said.
“I took the sample and all the packaging to the store the next day. I was horrified and felt it really important that no one else got hurt if the contamination was widespread.
"The store manager I handed it to was visibly shocked. He assured me the company would be in touch. A chap called Mark Whyman based in London was in charge of the investigation as he emailed me within 24 hours.
“I sought dental treatment and Sainsburys repaid me for the work done to correct my two broken back teeth. Mr Whyman assured me the investigation was on going. I emailed Mr Whyman again last week regarding an update for answers. I was told the sample had been lost and the case was closed. Here is £30.
"I handed the piece of metal over in good faith believing they would want to find out exactly what had happened. They clearly don’t care.
"This far from acceptable. So many questions are left unanswered. What if I had swallowed the metal? This could have endangered my life. It could have lodged and become life threatening through no fault of my own.
“Why was the food not scanned for metal as I believe it is at both ends of manufacturing. How do we know it was not a deliberate act? Someone could have died had they eaten that metal. What if it were a child or a frail elderly person?”
The woman has publicised the incident as a genuine warning for others to take care when buying meat from Sainsburys.
In a letter from the company to her, Sainsbury said: “Our customers’ satisfaction is of paramount importance to us, so we know how crucial it is that all our products are prepared and packaged to the highest of standards. We perform regular checks with our suppliers to ensure these standards are being met and that a good record is maintained.
“I would like to reassure you that we take all customer feedback seriously. We will continue to work closely with them to ensure tight quality control systems are being upheld. We will also monitor this product vigilantly and take on board all feedback we receive.”
A Sainsbury's press spokesperson told the Banbury Guardian, “We have been in touch with (the lady) to apologise for this rare occurrence and to offer her a gesture of goodwill. The safety of our customers and our products is our absolute priority and we have processes in place to prevent this from happening. We are raising this issue further with our supplier.”