A mum has hit out after she unwittingly nearly fed her 18-month-old daughter a rice pudding treat — which was infested with ‘thick’ green MOULD.
Michelle Massey, 29, was left horrified especially because her adorable daughter, Scarlett, has a condition which means she struggles to keep food down.
She claims Scarlett could have been hospitalised if the little tot had eaten the food, but was allegedly told ‘not to be so drastic’ by Premier Foods bosses.
The former beauty worker, who has severe nerve damage in her hand and arm, says the Ambrosia mini-rice pudding was well within its sell-by date and had been stored properly.
But Premier Foods dispute this and say the pot was damaged which caused the pudding to go mouldy — despite sending Michelle a £5 voucher and letter.
Michelle, from Bolton, Lancs., said: “If I had turned my back for one second and she had started eating it, that would have put her in hospital.
“I got the mini rice pudding open to give to my daughter, as I opened it it had mould so I went back into the kitchen.
“I went back into the kitchen, I thought ‘is it my eyes or something’ but I looked and it was mould as thick as anything.
“It’s disgusting to think this could even happen. It had gone all the way to the bottom of the pot.”
She added: “The company said if the packaging gets pricked and air gets into it we have a problem with mould.
“I said they should be thinking of changing the packaging so it could not get pricked and we wouldn’t have the situation where children could be getting ill.
“By the time a child has eaten it, it’s too late, they are feeling ill and don’t understand why.”
Michelle, who is also mum to 7-month-old son Dalton, said she had been offered recompense by Ambrosia, but declined it as she believes that the packaging of the brand needs changing.
“If they used packaging that was not as cheap they would not keep getting all these setbacks,” she added.
“They could use an alternative, like mini-cans. They said they considered that and would be thinking about it in the future.
“I did explain my daughter could be in hospital and I was told not to be so drastic.
“I said ‘my daughter has an illness and mould can make you very, very poorly’.
“Some babies are very sensitive to mould, you don’t know what type of mould is building up. This mould wasn’t just a few days old.”
A spokesman for Premier Foods, which makes the dessert, said rigorous factory checks were in place to ‘ensure we deliver our range to the highest standard.’
The company has sent Ms Massey a £5 voucher and a letter but maintain the pot was damaged – causing the pudding to go mouldy.
A Premier Foods spokesperson said “The quality and safety of our products is of utmost importance to us.
“We produce millions of Ambrosia products each year and have rigorous factory checks in place to ensure we deliver our range to the highest standard.
“We’re sorry that Ms Massey had cause to complain, and have been in touch with her directly to discuss the issue”.
