I’m just posting because about a week ago I had a very bad experience when eating a “Boneless” Cape Hake fillet from Tesco. I accidentally swallowed a large fish bone, possibly a part of the spine. I ended up in pain all night as it travelled around my digestive system and had to go to A&E the next day. I then spent 24 hours worrying about whether I would have to go back to A&E for an emergency operation if the pain worsened.
Luckily I recovered but it did lead to me having a pretty bad week and I still have a delicate stomach because the doctor said it would have scratched my insides as it moved through them.
The shocking thing about this affair is that I could not even find a customer service phone number on the Tesco site, I could not find an email address. They have a “contact us” button which sends you in a loop of nothingness. There is a customer service phone number somewhere on the website if you use a search engine but I can assure you it doesn’t work. In the end I got through to a real person only by phoning the local store number and that was after I had gone through multiple options that were not relevant to my issue. I only got through to someone by chance.
The only thing they gave me for all this distress was to refund the cost of the product! Shocking considering I could have ended up having an operation. I tried to follow up with them on facebook but they said I should take the product back to the store. I said, I’ve eaten it that is the problem, but they basically have no recourse to complain about their products.
I’m posting this to warn others to be careful buying anything there and check its quality before eating because there is absolutely no ability to get any compensation from them or even anyone that cares about the fact that you could have died eating something dangerous and misleading.
It seems many retailers are going the same way so caveat emptor - buyer beware!
This could happen anywhere even in a restaurant. One has to be extra careful where fish food is eaten. Best to try with small portions each mouthful when small fishbones could be missed. Cod I hake to skate over this, it something not to flounder about.
My point is that food quality is no longer taken seriously by Tesco, so if you do have any problem you won’t get anywhere unless you go to a solicitor. People should be aware than their customer service team no longer exists.
Was it Tesco brand Annie or something like ‘Birds Eye’ etc ?
Are you monitoring the bones exit ?
Sorry to hear of your experience, we usually eat Tesco’s Salmon, but I mash it up with a fork before each mouthful. Not very often, but there have been bones found in the supposedly filleted Salmon.
Apart from ‘Birds Eye’ fish fingers with my chips on a Monday and the odd can of Tuna, I don’t eat much fish these days. Turns out, it causes high levels of uric acid which brings on my gout…
I think the bone must have passed through as the pain stopped. It wasn’t a normal fish bone (they are usually long and thin) It felt like it was a roundish disc with prickly sides like swallowing a small piece of holly that must have scraped every bit of me. I felt unwell for a couple of days but ok now (fingers crossed). The doctor said it’s amazing what can pass through the gut and that our physiology can deal with a certain level of such hazards and accidents.
I didn’t realise fish causes uric acid spikes. I’m having sardines for lunch quite often as they are meant to be the latest superfood and so cheap. There are even recipes for sardine curry. They are quite nice with some mixed bean salad, feta cheese, parsley oregano and red onions. But I’m not eating the bones no matter how much calcium is in them!
Glad to hear that you’ve recovered from your painful ordeal Annie…
Our daughter once swallowed a ring when she was young. After a visit to the hospital and an X-ray where it could be clearly seen, we had to sift through her stools every day until it finally appeared. And looking very clean indeed, although I wouldn’t recommend it as a method of cleaning…
Apparently it’s the protein that causes an increase in uric acid (purines) as long as I don’t eat too much cheese and fish I can avoid a very painful attack.
I apolgise ahead of my post as I’m not going to be sympathetic to your food problem. But first I do agree that Tesco and many other retailers and producers are very bad at providing a central point of service. Going to store becomes the only route but this is not much good when trying to address an issue bigger than wanting to return an item purchased there. You are right to highlight this issue.
(Look away now.) However, failing to take adequate care when preparing or eating something is entirely at your risk. Fish is known by everyone to contain bones. Very often I find it necessary to pin-bone fillets before cooking - and even then being quite careful when eating. Would you complain if you took a huge bite of an apple and ended up eating the stem? Or failing to cook a chicken and got food poisoning? Or properly cooked the chicken and in carving the meat accidentally sliced off a bit of bone and ate that? When Tesco said there is no compensation possible that is because they did nothing wrong. I’m actually surprised they offered to refund the cost of the item. Didn’t the queen mother have a health care when she once swallowed a salmon bone?
I apologise as I overlooked that aspect of the product you bought. Tesco’s duty of care substantially increases given that description. And your duty of care reduces. Perhaps doesn’t disappear, but greatly reduces. I’ll wind my neck back in.
Shocking yes, surprising no!
Trying to speak to another human being as far as large businesses are concerned seems to be increasingly difficult alas!
We’re still in the relatively early days of AI too…oh joy!
It’s good to read that the situation didn’t become as serious as it might have Annie, must have been awful!
I’m tempted to respond in an unladylike way to that loaded comment, but I shall restrain myself!
suffice it to say that some things that appear to be boneless can still cause damage if you are innocent of the danger they hide!
My main annoyance with this whole situation is that you could find glass or poison in your Tesco food but they do not have any route for remedy or any sign of accountability for the safety of the food they sell. This bone was in the last piece of what was quite a firm fish, so completely unexpected. They are probably more careful in ensuring no bones remain in pet food than human food!
Thank you - I hope it helps others that I posted. I am guessing the other supermarkets are also stepping back from being responsible. Last year I found a long blonde human hair in some Sainsbury’s salmon - after much back and forth they gave me a £10 voucher. That’s all you get after nearly eating a hair.
I’m guessing some of this is also down to relaxed food safety laws and reduced compensation laws set up by recent or current governments. We go from one extreme legally to another.
It’s interesting to see that people are so cautious and careful about what they eat, but let the medical profession stick any mixture of dangerous chemicals in their arm…
I only have a flu vaccine OGF. The tiny amounts of toxic ingredients in that are too small to cause any harm. You probably breathed in far more from air pollution on a run. I’m never having another covid jab. That’s the only time I’ve ever had a reaction to a vaccine.
We do have to place a lot of trust into the medical profession when we take medication. I currently don’t take any meds other than occasional painkillers. Trying to be healthy an avoid meds for as long as I can. My BP has now gone back down to a healthy level through giving up booze 2 years ago and adding lots of healthy foods and fibre to my diet.
I think breathing in a little pollution wouldn’t have the same effect as putting stuff in your bloodstream Annie, and I do believe that some of these modern vaccines work on a cellular level and can alter DNA the results of which are not fully understood.
I used to have complete faith in the NHS but sadly not anymore, it’s turned into a conveyor belt of prescribed meds, and like you, I have resisted many of the things that patients like me should be taking according to the book…
Some procedures I had no choice in accepting and probably wouldn’t be here without them, but I’ve spent a lifetime listening to my body and acknowledging when it needs rest or help, and so far I seem to be living to the max (under the circumstances) but make no mistake, I will do everything in my power to extend my life, even if it means going ‘cap in hand’ to the Doctor for help…But that time is not yet…
both end up in your bloodstream, but the pollution in the air we breathe is far more toxic if that air is unclean. We can choose whether or not to have a vaccine. I’m more worried about plastic entering the food chain. That leaves us with no choice but to eat a toxin.
