As we age, maintaining a healthy diet becomes even more crucial for our overall health and well-being. However, it can be challenging to find the time and energy to prepare meals from scratch.

This is where the convenience of ready-to-eat meals can come in handy. After all, why spend hours cooking a fragrant dish when you can whip up a delicious microwave meal in much less time - and with less fuss?

These meals are available in various forms, such as pre-packaged meals, frozen dinners, and pre-made salads, and can be found in most grocery and convenience stores.

The downside is, of course, that when it comes to microwave-ready stuff, you don’t get to witness how the food was prepared.

You don’t get to taste, smell and investigate the ingredients before purchase - in fact all you usually get to do is trust the packet it came in.

With that in mind, one recent incident has made the rounds on social media, giving us all a moment to pause and think: is convenience now at the cost of our health?

Woolworths recently came under fire after a shopper revealed the 'disgusting' find in a packet of their rice.

One Woolworths shopper took to social media to share that the packet of rice she purchased was covered in mould. Credit: Facebook.

Sharing her grievance on social media, the Sydney woman snapped some photos of the awful surprise when she opened a pack of Steamed Basmati Rice from Woolworths.

The rice can be seen covered in deep black mould, despite the package's stated expiration date being November 20th, 2023.

'This is pretty disgusting, Woolworths,' the customer wrote in the Facebook post alongside the images.

The post captured the attention of many shoppers who described the incident as ‘awful’.

Woolworths also reached out to the shopper, expressing their gratitude to the customer for bringing the incident to their attention and assured her that the company is investigating the matter.

The message from the retailer read: ‘We’re disappointed to see your rice like this.’

‘At Woolworths we care deeply about our customers, so this will be escalated to our product team so they are aware and can investigate the issue.’

Woolworths reached out to the customer and assured her that the issue is being investigated. Credit: Facebook.

Additionally, a representative from the company encouraged customers who may have experienced similar incidents to come forward and seek a full refund.

The spokesperson said: ‘We take food safety and quality seriously and are aware of the customer’s report. We are investigating the matter further to identify the potential cause of the mouldy rice product.’

‘If ever our customers have any concerns about the quality of the product they receive, we encourage them to return it to their local store or contact our Customer Hub for a refund or replacement.’

Key Takeaways

• A Woolworths customer posted pictures of a mould she found on a pack of Steamed Basmati Rice.
• Woolworths thanked the woman for bringing it to their attention and said they would escalate the issue to their product team.
• Woolworths urged customers to return any food they are not satisfied with and to contact their Customer Hub for a refund or replacement.
• In the past, other customers have reported finding items like a piece of band-aid in a ready-to-eat salad.

As disgusting as this recent incident may be, it's actually not the first time Woolies has been called out on stomach-churning food items.

Earlier this year, we reported about how one customer found a piece of band-aid mixed in a ready-to-eat salad purchased from the retailer.

This raises a question: does the convenience of packed meals outweigh the risks they can pose to our health?

Members, if you’ve experienced this or a similar incident, please don’t hesitate to contact Woolworths at 1800 638 434.

What are your thoughts on this? Share them with us in the comments below!

 

[Kaylee]

Why does everyone blame Woolworths when something goes bad. They are not manufacturing the products.
It would be different if it was from the bakery or deli etc where they can actually see any problems. But inside sealed products, they don't have x-ray vision.

 

[josie12green]

I totally agree with you Kaylee, everyone is quick to blame the supermarket for things going wrong with packaged food. Not their fault but they will always honour you with a refund.

 

[Catherines]

Supermarkets ‘sell’ manufactured food that a third party has produced for them. The supermarkets don’t have x-ray vision to see inside sealed packets. Be reasonable - if your item is not up to an acceptable standard, take it back and they will gladly replace the item or refund the cost. If you expect them to be responsible for goods manufactured out of their control and put in machinery that will ‘x-ray’ every single item, then expect to pay astronomically high prices for each and every item of pre-packaged food. I can tell you if you want every item on their food shelves to be checked then you’d best be a multi-multi-millionaire to afford to live!

 

[Catherines]

Why does everyone blame Woolworths when something goes bad. They are not manufacturing the products.
It would be different if it was from the bakery or deli etc where they can actually see any problems. But inside sealed products, they don't have x-ray vision.

Absolutely agree.

 

[Iggydi]

I have had issues with some food products I have bought from Woolworths and Coles. I have gone back to the manufacture and reported it to them. I know that Coles and Woolworths plus the other supermarkets buy from companies and they buy the stock in good faith and expect fresh or products that are fit for human consumption. No point bitching on Social Media. You can inform people to be aware but always go back to the manufacture or the supermarket before you splash it on Social Media.

 

[Catherines]

I have had issues with some food products I have bought from Woolworths and Coles. I have gone back to the manufacture and reported it to them. I know that Coles and Woolworths plus the other supermarkets buy from companies and they buy the stock in good faith and expect fresh or products that are fit for human consumption. No point bitching on Social Media. You can inform people to be aware but always go back to the manufacture or the supermarket before you splash it on Social Media.

Good on you for telling whingers to think before splashing things on social media. I’m sure problems like this with food are not deliberate acts by a supermarket. Take it back & where necessary make your complaint known to the manufacturer also.

 

[Catherines]

I have had issues with some food products I have bought from Woolworths and Coles. I have gone back to the manufacture and reported it to them. I know that Coles and Woolworths plus the other supermarkets buy from companies and they buy the stock in good faith and expect fresh or products that are fit for human consumption. No point bitching on Social Media. You can inform people to be aware but always go back to the manufacture or the supermarket before you splash it on Social Media.

Good on you for telling whingers to think before splashing things on social media. I’m sure problems like this with food are not deliberate acts by a supermarket. Take it back & where necessary make your complaint known to the manufacturer also.

 

[Pam White]

Presumably you didn't see the mould when you bought the product, so how do you expect the store to know there was mould?

 

[Shane/#]

As we age, maintaining a healthy diet becomes even more crucial for our overall health and well-being. However, it can be challenging to find the time and energy to prepare meals from scratch.

This is where the convenience of ready-to-eat meals can come in handy. After all, why spend hours cooking a fragrant dish when you can whip up a delicious microwave meal in much less time - and with less fuss?

These meals are available in various forms, such as pre-packaged meals, frozen dinners, and pre-made salads, and can be found in most grocery and convenience stores.

The downside is, of course, that when it comes to microwave-ready stuff, you don’t get to witness how the food was prepared.

You don’t get to taste, smell and investigate the ingredients before purchase - in fact all you usually get to do is trust the packet it came in.

With that in mind, one recent incident has made the rounds on social media, giving us all a moment to pause and think: is convenience now at the cost of our health?

Woolworths recently came under fire after a shopper revealed the 'disgusting' find in a packet of their rice.

One Woolworths shopper took to social media to share that the packet of rice she purchased was covered in mould. Credit: Facebook.

Sharing her grievance on social media, the Sydney woman snapped some photos of the awful surprise when she opened a pack of Steamed Basmati Rice from Woolworths.

The rice can be seen covered in deep black mould, despite the package's stated expiration date being November 20th, 2023.

'This is pretty disgusting, Woolworths,' the customer wrote in the Facebook post alongside the images.

The post captured the attention of many shoppers who described the incident as ‘awful’.

Woolworths also reached out to the shopper, expressing their gratitude to the customer for bringing the incident to their attention and assured her that the company is investigating the matter.

The message from the retailer read: ‘We’re disappointed to see your rice like this.’

‘At Woolworths we care deeply about our customers, so this will be escalated to our product team so they are aware and can investigate the issue.’

Woolworths reached out to the customer and assured her that the issue is being investigated. Credit: Facebook.

Additionally, a representative from the company encouraged customers who may have experienced similar incidents to come forward and seek a full refund.

The spokesperson said: ‘We take food safety and quality seriously and are aware of the customer’s report. We are investigating the matter further to identify the potential cause of the mouldy rice product.’

‘If ever our customers have any concerns about the quality of the product they receive, we encourage them to return it to their local store or contact our Customer Hub for a refund or replacement.’

Key Takeaways

• A Woolworths customer posted pictures of a mould she found on a pack of Steamed Basmati Rice.
• Woolworths thanked the woman for bringing it to their attention and said they would escalate the issue to their product team.
• Woolworths urged customers to return any food they are not satisfied with and to contact their Customer Hub for a refund or replacement.
• In the past, other customers have reported finding items like a piece of band-aid in a ready-to-eat salad.

As disgusting as this recent incident may be, it's actually not the first time Woolies has been called out on stomach-churning food items.

Earlier this year, we reported about how one customer found a piece of band-aid mixed in a ready-to-eat salad purchased from the retailer.

This raises a question: does the convenience of packed meals outweigh the risks they can pose to our health?

Members, if you’ve experienced this or a similar incident, please don’t hesitate to contact Woolworths at 1800 638 434.

What are your thoughts on this? Share them with us in the comments below!

Fresh food people what bullshit

 

[Catherines]

Fresh food people what bullshit

Don’t air your venom on social media like that. ALL stores, regardless of what they sell, do so in good faith. They don’t deliberately sell goods that are meant to harm us, otherwise the consequences for them could mean loss of a company with dire consequences for them. I have absolutely no connection of ANY kind with ANY store but I understand that this, and other problems, are not deliberately meant to harm us.

 

[Catherines]

Why does everyone blame Woolworths when something goes bad. They are not manufacturing the products.
It would be different if it was from the bakery or deli etc where they can actually see any problems. But inside sealed products, they don't have x-ray vision.

A very sensible respondent who understands things!! These are not meant to deliberately harm us.

 

[Catherines]

Has anyone of you complainers noticed that when something is amiss with a product, fresh vegetables or something else that could be potentially harmful, these supermarkets immediately remove all of that product from their shelves and proceed to investigate the incident? I don’t see you acknowledging this - you just want to complain and make the supermarkets out to be the ‘bad boys’ every time.