An 11-year-old boy discovered a 2-3" lizard in the bottom of a loaf of bread bought from Tesco.
William Evans, from Hawkchurch in Devon, was about to cut himself a slice of bread to make toast for his breakfast when he noticed what he thought was a dead leaf stuck to the bottom. But when he removed the packaging and looked more closely he realised there was actually a dead lizard embedded in the bread.
The multi-grain brown loaf had been bought at Tesco in Axminster, where it had been baked in-store.
The lizard hadn't been cooked so William's father Marcus, said he thought it must have crawled inside the packaging and died there. Its imprint was clearly visible in the bread, suggesting the loaf was still warm when it found its way in.
William was said to have been 'traumatised' by the discovery. His mum Clare said the only positive note was that he hadn’t sliced through the end with the lizard on it — in which case he might have unwittingly eaten part of it.
They contacted Tesco’s customer service department who said it was impossible for a lizard to get into one of their loaves because of the company's high level of hygiene.
"I am surprised they didn’t tell me 'every little helps'," Mr Evans told the Midweek Herald.
"They have asked me to take it into the manager but I am thinking of contacting environmental health officers.
"We are keeping the lizard and loaf in the fridge for evidence."
A Tesco spokesperson said: "We have conducted a thorough inspection of the bakery area as well as the rest of the store, and we are confident that our robust procedures mean that there was no food safety risk to the product whilst it was within the store. If the customer would like to return the product, packaging and proof of purchase to us, we will be able to investigate further."
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