A 16-year-old student from London experienced a shocking discovery after buying a packet of granola from Sainsbury's, only to find it was alive with movement from an unwanted rodent stowaway.
The Moment of Horror
Josie Wright, a college student from Southgate, purchased a 1kg bag of Raisin, Nut & Honey granola for £2.40 from a Sainsbury's Local in Arnos Grove on November 31. Initially, nothing seemed amiss during the shop visit or at the self-checkout, where the weight scanned normally.
The terrifying reality unfolded once she returned home. "I got back home, took the granola out the bag and saw it was moving and making sounds," Josie recalled. After leaving it for five minutes, she heard distinct munching and crunching noises coming from the sealed packet.
Filming the Evidence
Alarmed, Josie alerted her mother, 56-year-old Lindsay Wright, and began filming the bizarre event. The footage clearly showed oat clusters shifting inside the packaging. "I could hear a kind of crackling sound and when I looked more closely I could see movement. It was a little bit alarming," Lindsay stated.
Josie's suspicion quickly turned to dread. "I considered the fact it could've been a bug or something but you could hear it chewing. I immediately knew it must've been a rodent," she said. The family believes the intruder was a baby field mouse that likely entered during the manufacturing process.
Health Fears and Supermarket Response
The incident has raised serious food safety and public health concerns. "We were more concerned about the fact that mouse droppings are quite dangerous and if you consume them they can be deadly," Josie explained, highlighting the risk of diseases like hantavirus or salmonella.
The Wrights returned the still-sealed packet to Sainsbury's and reported it to customer services. In response, a Sainsbury's spokesperson said: "Nothing is more important to us than the quality and safety of our products and we're sorry that our usual high standards were not met on this occasion. We're urgently investigating this with our supplier."
This is not an isolated case of fauna found in UK supermarket goods. It follows a similar incident where a frog was discovered in a bag of Asda bananas, pointing to potential vulnerabilities in food supply chain hygiene.
The experience has left a lasting impact on Josie, who admitted she doesn't think she will "touch a bag of granola again." Her mother urged greater vigilance: "I think Sainsbury's want to be checking their processes and making sure it doesn't happen again."
