Courtney Leonard says she has been put off buying fruit again
A woman says she has been left frightened to buy fruit after her niece bit into one of Aldi’s viral frozen chocolate-covered raspberries and found a maggot. Courtney Leonard bought a £3.49 packet of the Specially Selected frozen fruit from an Aldi store in Streatham Hill, south London.
She says her niece was desperate to try them after seeing others taste test the frozen goods on social media. But when the 13-year-old bit into her first chocolate-covered treat, the pair were disgusted to discover a ‘maggot’ hiding inside the raspberry. A stomach-churning photo shows the dissected raspberry lying on a plate with a dead, frozen bug next to it, which Courtney claims she removed from the piece of fruit.
The nursery worker says they stopped eating the frozen snack straight away and she then complained to Aldi online. On the store’s website, the Specially Selected range is described as ‘adding a touch of luxury’ at ‘low Aldi prices’.
The mum-of-one claims she’d been left scared to buy fruit from Aldi again. Aldi apologised to Courtney and said while very rare, this can ‘occasionally occur with products that are grown in natural conditions’.
Courtney, from Crystal Palace in south London, said: “My niece had been desperate to try them. On her first bite, we found the maggot. It was dead, frozen and hard when we took it [the maggot] out [of the raspberry].
“As soon as she bit into it, she was like ‘oh my goodness, what is this?’. We dissected the raspberry and we saw that it was a creature. She bit part of the raspberry, saw what it was and then spat it out. Everyone was disgusted and we didn’t eat any more.”
After contacting Aldi online, Courtney says she was told to take the product back to the store to receive a full refund but is yet to do so. Courtney said: “At first, I don’t think we realised it was a maggot. We thought it was just the inside of the raspberry, but once we cut the raspberry and realised it was a maggot my niece was disgusted.
“It has scared me a bit, It’s definitely put me off buying frozen fruit or fruit from Aldi again.”
After posting about her discovery on social media, users were quick to comment. One wrote: “Well, they are ‘specially selected’. Another commented: “It’s just a lil’ protein snack.” A third added: “Stop it! I have these in the freezer.”
An Aldi spokesperson said: “Whilst very rare, this can occasionally occur with products that are grown in natural conditions. We have apologised to Courtney and have encouraged her to return the packaging to the store for a full refund.”
