A South Australian shopper says she was left “horrified” after opening a can of Coles brand red kidney beans and discovering what appeared to be part of a dead rat inside.
Lauren Whitburn told nine.com.au she was preparing dinner with her sister on Saturday night when she made the disturbing find.
“I went to pour the kidney beans into the strainer and I noticed there was something there that looked unusual,” Whitburn said.
WARNING: This article contains graphic content.
“I nearly went to touch it and take it out, but then I thought, ‘no, that looks a bit strange’.”
Whitburn said the object inside the tin looked very much like “rat remains”.
“I looked at it and could see what was a foot, or a claw,” she said.
“It was pretty disgusting – you could also see hair and bone.”
Whitburn said the beans were bought from a Coles store in Mount Barker, in the Adelaide Hills, earlier the same day.
Whitburn said she and her sister reported the find to Coles and SA Health the following day on Sunday.
“I am absolutely horrified and worried that other cans will have the other remains of the animal,” she said.
A Coles spokesperson told nine.com.au it was investigating the incident and had apologised to the customer.
“Food safety is paramount at Coles,” the Coles spokesperson said in a statement.
“We are concerned to hear about this customer’s experience and discovery with this product, and we are currently investigating with our supplier.
“Our suppliers take great care when processing all our products and include equipment and teams that conduct raw material inspections, pest control and quality checks during processing.
“We have apologised to the customer for their experience and have commenced an immediate investigation with our supplier.”
Whitburn’s find comes after another similar incident involving an Adelaide customer in December last year.
The customer shared a video on TikTok of what they claimed was a “baby rat” they had discovered in a Coles brand of chick peas.
A Coles spokesperson said at the time they were investigating the incident.
Both the Coles brand chick peas and red kidney beans are made in Italy, according to the Coles website.
The Coles red kidney beans are “packed in Italy from imported ingredients”, information printed on the tin’s label states.
Whitburn said Coles had requested the can and its contents be brought into the nearest Coles store, however she and her sister has chosen to wait for SA Health to collect it instead.
“We’ve organised with SA Health to pick it up today,” she said.
SA Heath said in a statement its Department for Health and Wellbeing’s Food Safety and Regulation Branch worked with other government agencies and local councils to ensure the food for sale in South Australia was safe and suitable.
“The discovery of foreign objects in food is a concern as it can pose a risk to public health,” the statement said.
“Our food regulators, in communication with Ms Whitburn, have organised to collect the product today and transfer it to the Victorian Department of Health.”
“This matter will then be investigated by our interstate counterparts, as this is where the Coles Head office is located.”
