Extra protein in vege soup

Denise Haagh found a 2.5cm bug in her canned vegetable soup. Photo / Richard Robinson

Denise Haagh got a little more than she bargained for when she tucked into a can of vegetable soup on Sunday.

The Massey resident was just a few spoonfuls into her bowl of Australian-made Campbell's Country Ladle when she found a 2.5cm bug.

"It was in my third spoonful. I saw the black eyes and I felt really sick - it's really gross," a disgusted Ms Haagh said.

"I might have eaten it unawares."

Massey University insect expert Murray Potter said the insect was almost certainly from the hymenoptera group of insects that includes bees, ants and wasps.

"[It is] most likely a type of wasp," Professor Potter said.

Ms Haagh said she bought the soup from Pak'N Save on Lincoln Rd in Henderson.

Store duty manager David Duncan said he took action as soon as he received the complaint on Monday.

"We took everything off our shelves with that same batch code ... but I'd say with a bug it would have been a one-off," he said.

Ms Haagh also contacted Campbell's to inform them of the tainted soup.

Campbell's director of public affairs, Toni Jones, said the company would investigate to find out if the bug entered the product during the manufacturing process or after the product had left the site.

"We apologise for any distress this experience may have caused [Ms Haagh] and we'd like to reassure our consumers that no other complaints of a similar nature have been received," she said.