Megan Janes, a 28-year-old field sales manager from Oxford, was left terrified after finding what she believes were fly eggs on a Lidl sushi set.
She purchased the £4.99 Raku salmon lovers 10-piece sushi box from a Lidl store in Wantage, Oxfordshire, on July 27.
The customer had already eaten around eight of the salmon pieces before she noticed a cluster of eggs on the remaining sushi.
She immediately stopped eating, retched, and kept the leftovers in her kitchen as evidence.
Ms Janes claimed that by Tuesday morning, the eggs had flattened and hatched into small crawling maggots.
She expressed panic that insects might be growing or hatching inside her body after consuming the food.
Discovery of the insect eggs
Recalling the moment she spotted the cluster, Ms Janes said she was hungover and had not been inspecting the food closely at first.
"I was horrified and I was so shocked, it was quite surreal. I'd got through the majority of the sushi and I tend to inspect each bit but I was hungover and not really with it," she said.
She added: "I hadn't really paid attention too much but something caught my eye, it was a big cluster of [eggs]."
When she showed the food to her boyfriend, he initially suggested the white marks were seeds, but she rejected the explanation.
"I said to my boyfriend 'something doesn't look right about this'. He said 'it's fine, it's just seeds' and I said 'no, it's definitely not seeds'," she said.
"When you get ready-to-go food you just don't expect that to be in there. It immediately made me heave and feel sick to my stomach."
Lidl is one of the largest discount supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, selling chilled convenience goods across hundreds of British stores. Wantage, where Ms Janes bought the pack, is a market town in Oxfordshire, south-east England.
After searching online for guidance, Ms Janes said she was advised to stop eating the sushi right away.
"On Tuesday morning the eggs had flattened because the insects were now out of these eggs and crawling out of the fish and the rice," she said.
"I was scared the insects might be growing or hatching inside me, that's what I was really worried about."
Concerns over health and symptoms
Her boyfriend tried to reassure her that human stomach acid would kill any swallowed insects, but the explanation did not ease her anxiety.
Ms Janes described the situation as feeling like a challenge on the television show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, referencing a contestant who had an insect stuck in their ear or nose.
I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! is a popular British reality TV series where participants face challenges involving live insects and creepy-crawlies.
"I've always thought that's my worst fear to have insects in places they shouldn't be so to have that was almost like having one of my biggest fears come true," she said.
"The past few days have been horrible, I've been waiting for some form of disease. I've been lucky that I've not been terrible, I've had a dodgy stomach and stomach cramps."
Supermarket apology and supplier response
Following multiple emails and photos sent to customer service, Lidl issued Ms Janes a £10 in-store voucher and apologised for failing to meet standards.
However, Ms Janes said she does not plan to use the voucher anytime soon and has been put off shopping at Lidl, despite it being her primary supermarket.
"It's put me off shopping at Lidl again. It's my main food shop as well, it's not ideal for me obviously," she said.
She added: "It's not something I'd like to think is common. I wouldn't necessarily want to scare people off of it but [I would say] definitely be careful."
A spokesperson for Lidl GB said: "At Lidl GB, we work closely with our suppliers to ensure all products meet strict quality standards."
"While rare, damage to outer packaging can sometimes occur, which can lead to product deterioration," the spokesperson added.
"We were very sorry to learn that on this occasion our high standards were not met, and can confirm that both a refund and a goodwill gesture have now been issued to the customer."
The Raku sushi range sold at Lidl is produced by Taiko Foods, a major British food manufacturer specializing in supermarket sushi and ready-to-eat Asian dishes.
A spokesperson for Taiko Foods said: "Taiko Foods operates to the highest standards of food safety and hygiene. We have fully investigated this matter, and we are entirely satisfied that there was no product contamination within the manufacturing process."
