Tauranga mum 'grossed out' after earwig found in Countdown fruit salad

A Tauranga woman was 'grossed out' after discovering an earwig in this pottle of supermarket fruit salad. Photo/supplied

When Faria Jahan found an earwig in the pre-packaged fruit salad she was about to give her pre-schooler she was immediately "grossed out".

The Tauranga mum-of-two now wants to warn other parents to be wary when preparing food for their children.

Jahan bought a Homebrand fruit salad from Countdown Fraser Cove a few weeks ago but last week opened it up to give to her young daughter.

"I opened it and a saw a black thing which I thought shouldn't be in there. I looked closer and saw it was an earwig. I was so grossed out. How could they not check that product before it goes out?

"It is quite disgusting it was sold with that inside."

A Tauranga woman was 'grossed out' after discovering an earwig in this pottle of supermarket fruit salad. Photo/supplied

Jahan returned the fruit salad, with earwig, to the supermarket which offered her a replacement and said it would investigate.

She declined the replacement, saying she had no plans to eat fruit salad anytime soon after her discovery. Jahan also said she believed her incident might not be a one-off and wanted to warn others.

"Parents should be aware of it, at least to be aware that there could be an earwig in that little tub of fruit salad. If it was in my one, it could be in others.

"Obviously we don't know how it got in there when they were processing it."

A Countdown spokeswoman confirmed the supermarket was investigating the incident.

The Homebrand fruit salads were not being recalled.

"At this stage it seems to be an isolated case," she said.

Things you might not have known about earwigs

- Earwigs can reach 0.5 to 3 inches in length.
- Earwigs have a pair of antennas on the head. They are composed of 10 or more segments. An earwig also has a pair of pinchers on the rear end of the body that facilitates capturing the prey and serve as a weapon against predators. Pinchers are straight in females, curved in males.
- Earwigs received their name due to the false belief that they often occupy ears and lay eggs inside the human brain. Even though they are able to enter the ears, they prefer to stay away from them due to lack of food and moisture in the ear canal.
- Earwigs like to eat leaves, flower, fruit, mould and insects. It consumes both fresh and dead plant material.
Source - http://www.softschools.com