How about some insects with your oats?

By Vatapuia Maiava 13 February 2016, 12:00AM

A mother who bought a packet of rolled oats from a shop at Vailele got more than what she bargained for when she arrived home.

The woman, who only wants to be identified as Suga, got the shock of her life when she opened the packet to find that it was infested with ant-like insects.

“I usually buy things from this store but this is the first time I’ve had an issue with a product,” she said. Although she was shocked, Suga said she wanted to give the store an opportunity to explain.

 “I went back and asked for their boss and they said he wasn’t there. Still, I showed them the pack of oats and asked for a refund.”

In the end, she decided to return home with the packet.

“I had told them I was going to tell the Ministry of Health,” she said, adding that she left her details with them. “I wanted to see what their reaction would be. I expected them to be concerned but they didn’t seem to care.

“They never called.”  

Suga said it shows that some stores don’t care about what they sell. “The people need to know how these shop keepers don’t care about what they sell. This is very unprofessional. This is just not on.” Contacted for a comment, the Supervisor at the store, Tusi Tuimanatu, confirmed that Suga had bought the packet from their shop but they don’t know how the insects entered it.

 “We don’t know what happened because the product isn’t expired,” said Tusi. “We went through all the boxes of rolled oats after receiving the complaint and that seems to be the only one affected by these insects.”

According to Tusi, the package was purchased from a local wholesale. He said they regret that Suga had gotten a bad packet.   “We never saw the need to check all the boxes that we get from the wholesale,” he said. “In this case, we will take this back to them and try getting a refund for it.” Contacted for a comment, an official at the Wholesale, Tugaga Sani, said they were not aware of the issue.

 “If there are issues with any product from us then you must come here and lodge a complaint,” said Tugaga. “So far I haven’t heard anything regarding that product.”

By Vatapuia Maiava 13 February 2016, 12:00AM
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