Tesco chicken had gall bladder inside - report

May 15 2009 By Mark Goode

The chicken bought by Deborah Roulton

A ready roasted chicken that Tesco sold an Ashford mum had turned green because the bird's gall bladder was still inside, environmental health officers discovered.

The Sunday lunch that turned the stomach of mum Deborah Rulton and her two children had been sold to a her at Tesco's store in Town Lane, Ashford, in April.

Deborah was so shocked at the bright green innards she found when she carved the bird that she alerted Spelthorne Borough Council , which sent it away for testing.

And as a result of her protest, and a request from environmental health officers, the supermarket giant has agreed to increase the number of checks it makes to chickens when they are delivered to stores for roasting.

Deborah said: "I’m pleased that I went through this stressful process because it has resulted in more checks taking place by Tesco and their supplier."

The tests revealed that the green material comprised a bag of fibrous connective tissue containing a greenish/yellowish fluid, which tested positively for bile.’

The analyst who conducted the investigation said the presence of the gall bladder was not harmful.

"But it is a quality defect as the presence of bile will adversely affect the appearance of the meat," he added.

Deborah, who lives in Cumberland Road, Ashford, said: "I’m still very angry that I received a hostile and uncaring response from Tesco customer services about this matter because Tesco’s staff should have welcomed any investigation that would improve food safety processes."

In a letter to Deborah, a Spelthorne environmental health officer told her shehad visited the store and asked staff to make additional checks to chicken body cavities

The bird was processed at Tesco supplier, Two Sisters Food Group, in Scunthorpe where 1.7 million birds a week are gutted on two production lines.

The letter also reports the processor as saying regular samples are taken to check quality, and the birds were manually inspected before being packed.

Two Sisters’ records show no major irregularities during the gutting process. As a result they are "reviewing their systems in regard to the effectiveness of their controls".

A spokeswoman from Spelthorne Council said no further action is being taken against Tesco or against the supplier.

A spokesman from Tesco said: "Again we apologise and will look into this with the supplier."