Ipswich man discovers screw in pack of Tesco chicken

Ipswich man Terry Miles claims he discovered a small silver screw in his supermarket chicken (Image: Archant)

Terry Miles, 39, bought a pack of mini breast fillets from Tesco’s Martlesham branch and said the meat “looked fine” when he selected and purchased it.

He was just about to cook the chicken back at home when he turned a fillet over and claimed he found a small silver screw underneath the meat.

“I went into the shop at around 6.30pm on Friday evening, the chicken looked fine when I picked it up off the shelf,” said Mr Miles, who works as a transport manager in Felixstowe.

“I was really shocked when I got home and opened the packet and found a small silver screw under the chicken fillets, I was about to cook them. I turned the chicken over and there looking back at me was a piece of metal. I’m glad I saw it.”

Terry Miles, 39, is a transport manager from Ipswich.

Mr Miles said he tried to contact Tesco shortly after the incident, but claimed he did not receive a response – so he resorted to posting on the retailer’s Facebook page instead.

He added: “I was really concerned. It’s not exactly what you expect to find when you open a packet of chicken.”

A Tesco customer care worker named Charlotte replied to his post.

She said: “I am so sorry that there was a metal screw in the pack of chicken you bought from our Martlesham store.

“Understandably, you’re concerned at this and I appreciate why you’ve got in touch to let me know.”

The supermarket asked Mr Miles to return the “foreign body”, its packaging and his receipt back to the store. The matter is currently being investigated.

A Tesco spokesman said: “We take great care to ensure the food we sell is safe and of the highest quality. All our chicken passes through a metal detector after it is packaged so it is not clear how this may have happened.

“We have not received any similar complaints but have passed this on to our chicken supplier for them to investigate.”