Mom says daughter is ‘traumatized’ after eating Dairylea Lunchables ‘squirming with maggots’

Rachel Stone, 39, from Ruddlan, Wales, said her daughter found maggots in her Dairylea snack at a family BBQ, which allegedly made her throw up and “traumatized”.

A mother claims her daughter vomited and was “traumatized” after eating a Dairylea Lunchables, only to find it “squirming with maggots”.

Rachael Stone said she bought the snack with husband John Stone, 44, at their local Icelandic branch over Easter weekend for their seven-year-old daughter Poppie as it was her favorite.

The 39-year-old said the family were enjoying a BBQ when she heard Poppie scream that her food contained “worms” before throwing up.

The parents rushed over and said they were horrified to discover there were maggots in the container, crawling between the slices of ham.

She complained to Iceland and product maker Mondelez, but claims both parties have refused to accept responsibility for the problem.

She claimed that everyone points fingers at each other when it comes to taking responsibility.

However, Mondelez International has issued a £10 gift voucher but Rachel has vowed never to let her daughter eat the product again.

Rachel, from Rhuddlan, North Wales, said: “We were having a BBQ but my daughter decided that instead of a BBQ she just wanted a snack with lunchables.

“We were sitting eating and the next minute we just heard this horrible scream and I heard her screaming ‘I have worms in my food’.

“So we walked over and she literally spat everything out and choked.

“When we checked she had obviously eaten most of it and it wasn’t until she got to the bottom of it that she realized what was there.

“I think it was just two slices of ham glued together that were left at the bottom.

“There were maggots on the flesh and on the bottom of the actual tub. It is disgusting.

“I was almost sick myself but I was more worried about her because she was hysterical so I tried to calm her down.

“She couldn’t stop herself, she felt nauseous on the spot. She’s been nauseous a few times.”

The parents bought the popular children’s snack at Clywed Retail Park near Rhyl on April 15 and said their daughter ate it the next day.

Although it was well past its sell-by date – April 30 – and appeared sealed, Rachel said the ham slices were crawling with maggots, which worried Poppie that she might have eaten some.

Her parents said they were also worried it might make Poppie sick.

Rachel said: “The first thing I did was Google what happens when you consume them to see if it could do any real harm or if I would have to take them to the hospital.

“It just advised us to give her lots of water and keep an eye on her, so that’s what we did.

“But she cried and was so scared that she didn’t even want to eat or drink anything afterwards.

“My husband actually slept downstairs with her that night just in case she gets sick again or we have to take her to the hospital.”

Rachel said while Iceland allegedly told her that as a branded product, “the responsibility rests solely with the manufacturer.”

She said that following an investigation, Mondelez International is confident that “the damage has not occurred at any of their sites.”

The mother also said she suggested the size of the maggot larvae suggested “a development time of around four days,” which they claimed the product had already left their facility for the store.

Rachel said: “I got a letter from the people who actually make it and they just fobbed us off with a £10 voucher to use on more of their products.

“But there’s no way I’m going to buy this product again or give her anything else from this brand – it just isn’t good enough.”

“Poppie totally put her off too. She doesn’t even eat ham sandwiches anymore.

“The manufacturer basically took no responsibility for it. They said once it leaves their factory it has nothing to do with them.

“They said, because of the size of the maggots and how long it takes to hatch eggs, it’s basically Iceland’s fault and something happened there.

“But Iceland doesn’t take responsibility either, so I’m stuck with that at the moment.”

A spokesman for Mondelez International said: “We are very sorry to hear of Ms Stone’s unpleasant experience.

“We have thoroughly investigated the matter, as we do with all complaints, and our extensive investigations have found no evidence of this happening at our facilities, nor have we received any other complaints of this nature for this product.

“While we were happy to provide Ms Stone with a voucher as a goodwill gesture, we are confident that this damage has not occurred at any of our sites.”

Iceland was asked to comment.