'Insect' found in Chinese takeaway was actually a vegetable

Tests have revealed an "insect" found in a Chinese takeaway was actually a vegetable. Hull City Council launched an investigation after customer Naomi Peacock made the discovery in soft noodles from Lucky Star in Hull. Miss Peacock complained to the city council's environmental health department.

Officers launched an investigation and sent the "insect" to Killgerm Chemicals Limited. It was then confirmed it was actually a piece of vegetable. Tracey Su, owner of Lucky Star, said she was pleased to discover it was not an insect. She said: "It did look like a bug but, because of the way we process our food, I was sure it hadn't come from us.



"When we cook our food, it goes through lots of different processes that mean if it was an insect, we would have found it. I have done my own tests and I think it was a big bit of onion, because we found it does look like that if it is cooked for a little bit too long." After finding what she believed was a dead insect inside her noodles, Miss Peacock said she would never eat Chinese food again. At the time, Mrs Su apologised to Miss Peacock and refunded the cost of her meal.

Environmental health officers from Hull City Council visited her to view her discovery. They then launched an investigation, which revealed the foreign body to be a vegetable, rather than a dead creature. Miss Peacock said: "I can't believe it is a vegetable – it looks nothing like it. I was sure it was an insect. When the environmental health officer came to see me, he said he was sure it was an oriental grasshopper. I can't believe it was a vegetable."