Accidentally deep-fried mouse found in bag of scampi has put man off his food

A man who narrowly avoided eating a deep-fried mouse that he claims had been sealed inside a bag of Tesco scampi is now unable to eat. Mohammed Ali, from Stoneyburn in West Lothian, has said he is still too sick to eat after making the gruesome discovery on Wednesday afternoon. The 37-year-old emptied the contents of the bag into his deep fat fryer, not realising the deceased rodent had been frozen alongside the battered langoustine tails.



He has now reported the find to Tesco and environmental health officials who are investigating. Mr Ali bought the £3 packet from Tesco in Bathgate and later that day decided to fry them up for an afternoon snack. He said: “I stuck my hand in the bag and put it in, I was in a hurry.” But he noticed something was amiss when he checked the pan two minutes later.

He said: “I saw something black was inside it. I thought ‘what the hell is that?’ I fished it out and it was a mouse. I was shocked, upset and angry. I was looking forward to scampi. I love scampi.” After the incident he contacted the supermarket chain and West Lothian Council’s trading standards department. He said the experience has left him unable to eat anything, adding: “I’ve only been drinking juice, I’m starving.”



A West Lothian Council spokesman said: “We have been contacted by a local resident regarding the alleged find of a mouse in a locally bought food product. Our environmental health officers are 
investigating.” A Tesco spokeswoman said: “We set ourselves very high standards for the safety and quality of our food. The product has not been returned to store by Mr Ali but we will be assisting the local authority with any investigation they may undertake.”