Northland pensioner Ian Score was aghast when he opened a block of Woolworths cheese recently, only to discover two cockroaches under the wrapper. Video / Michael Cunningham
A pensioner who enjoys a late-night nibble of cheese, to help him sleep, got a rude awakening when he discovered his recently purchased block came with a crunchy extra - a dead cockroach.
Ian Score bought the 1kg block of Woolworths branded Everyday cheese - touted to have a sweet, mild, and buttery flavour - for about $10 from the supermarket chain’s Okara Park store, in Whangārei, on March 23.
Onerahi pensioner Ian Score recently bought a block of Woolworths Everyday brand cheese from the supermarket's Okara Park store. When he got it home, he discovered cockroaches in it. Photo / Michael Cunningham
A few nights later, he opened the cheese for the first time and peeled back the wrapper to cut himself a sliver of his favourite dairy treat. A few moments later he peeled back the wrapper a little further to cut some more.
That’s when he got an unpleasant surprise as the dead cockroach - 0.9cms long by 0.45cms wide - was suddenly exposed. It was embedded in the top of the cheese hidden under the peel-off cover wrap.
Score suspected the roach most likely have got there during the wrapping process and was concerned others might also have snuck into other blocks of the same cheese, other Woolworths products, or brands being wrapped at the same plant.
“Where there’s one cockroach, there’s a million more,” Score said.
And indeed there was at least one more - in that very same pack. Score hadn’t noticed it himself but the Northern Advocate did when it met with Score to discuss his concerns.
Shown the still largely wrapped block, we noticed another cockroach further down the block hidden by the overhanging edge of the peel-off top wrapper. The second roach was much smaller - measuring only a millimetre or two.
The insects are yet to be expert inspected but appeared to be either New Zealand native bush cockroaches or juvenile Gisborne cockroaches, which are similar to look at and a similar light colour when young. Neither are considered household pests and unlike German or American cockroaches don’t spread disease or fly.
One of two cockroaches Ian Score found in a block of Woolworths Everyday cheese he bought from the supermarket's Okara Park store. Photo / Michael Cunningham
A reporter noticed a second, much smaller, cockroach in a block of cheese Onerahi pensioner Ian Score recently bought. Scott called the Advocate after finding a larger specimen nearer the end of the cheese, when he unwrapped it. He hadn't noticed this second one further down an unwrapped part of the block. Photo / Michael Cunningham.
Score said he was really concerned about the find so wanted to alert relevant authorities rather than just take the block straight back to the supermarket.
He wondered if those organisations had perhaps been affected by the current cuts to Government departments and whether they perhaps hoped the matter would all “just blow over”.
“But it ain’t gonna blow over with me I can assure you - I’ve been around a while.”
Already feeling physically sick about his discovery, Score then had to rummage about his rubbish bin in order to find the receipt, which he’d previously thrown out.
He looked at the wrapper to try to work out where the cheese had been manufactured or wrapped but all it said was that it had been “packed” for Woolworths at 80 Favona Rd, Māngere, Auckland.
He was no closer to being able to determine if the cheese was actually wrapped at that location or just packed into boxes there for further distribution.
For all he knew, the cheese could have been wrapped elsewhere in New Zealand or even overseas. Perhaps the cheese was even produced somewhere overseas - possibly in Australia as part of the parent company’s operations. And if, the cheese had been contaminated with the bug overseas then it could even be a biosecurity risk, Score said.
He “hated” cockroaches and had been going without cheese altogether since his find.
Approached for comment, Woolworths New Zealand said, “As the customer has failed to contact Woolworths directly or provide the product in question for investigation and testing, it is very difficult for us to understand what might have happened.
“However, we have looked into this with our manufacturer and it’s unlikely that this insect has come from our supply chain. We have also not received any other similar complaints. We take food safety very seriously and would hope this customer contacts us so we can investigate fully.”
Woolworths also stressed the cheese was made in New Zealand and there was no link to Australia.
A Gisborne cockroach. Photo / Supplied
According to New Zealand Geographic online, Gisborne cockroaches (Drymaplaneta semivitta) hail from Australia, where they are most common in Melbourne.
“The Gisborne cockroach was first recorded in Gisborne in the 1960s, but is thought to have arrived earlier as it was noticed in Auckland and the Bay of Plenty at the same time. It has now spread throughout the North Island and upper South.
“It can be told apart from the native bush cockroach by its more distinctive white bands and larger body, which measures up to 45 millimetres long and 12–15 millimetres wide. It has very prominent hind legs and its flattened body can squeeze through gaps less than two millimetres high.
“It is harmless - unlike German or American cockroaches, it does not spread disease, nor can it fly. It typically doesn’t invade food supplies, unless they’re decaying. It prefers to stay outside under bark or woodchips, however will come inside if it’s wet or too hot,” NZ Geographic said.
The online site CitSciHub said there are about 16 species of native bush cockroaches (Celatoblatta).
“Most of the species favours damp, dark habitats - in logs, leaf litter, and under loose bark. They are not a household pest. They are usually introduced into a house usually by firewood. They are omnivorous and may feed on all sorts of organic materials.
“The species Celatoblatta quinquemaculata can be found under slabs of rock in the subalpine and alpine regions of New Zealand. It is unusual because it survives through freezing conditions by allowing the water within its body to freeze and as temperature rises they become active,” CitSciHub said.
