Worm/caterpillar/maggot in my sandwich!?

Question

Got my lunch from Sainsbury's - a worm or something crawled out. How can I find out what sort of creature it is? Does anyone know of a webpage that aids identification of crawling items?

It was a Sainsbury's 'Taste the Difference' Cheese, salad and pickle on a wholemeal granary bread.

I had eaten most of it before the critter made an appearance.

I tiik it back and they gave me my 2 quid back! I should've shouted louder

Sorry - I TOOK it back

Answer 1

Without a bit more to go on, it may be difficult to determine exactly what it was.

The mostly likely culprit is probably a maggot, which could have been in the tomato, or lettuce. This would most likely be some kind of fruit fly maggot. Unfortunately, identifying exactly what kind of maggot usually requires looking at very fine details such as the mouthparts and tiny structures and features on the maggot's body, and even then it usually requires that the maggot be in the final stages before pupation for positive identification.

Fly maggots are fairly featureless little cylindrical blobs, usually pale in colour.

Here's a picture of a typical maggot http://www.mendosa.com/maggot.jpg

The good news is that if it was a maggot, it probably means the ingredients of the sandwich were quite fresh.

It could also be a beetle larva of some kind, such as a grain beetle larva feeding on the bread.

Here's a drawing of a typical flour beetle and its larva http://agebb.missouri.edu/storage/pests/insect3.jpg

A caterpillar is also a remote possibility, probably hanging onto the lettuce or something. There are bazillions of different types of caterpillars, but they'll all have lots of legs.

Here's a picture of a cabbage moth caterpillar http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artdec99sup/images/mbkunstfutter.jpg

Answer 2

Contact them asap. Tell them that if something isn't done about it you'll take it further. Watch em grovel !! I mean you deserve some kind of compensation for that !!

We had a Colorado beetle in a tin of asparagus did the same even got in contact with DEFRA who came out to collect this beetle thing. All we got is a £10 gift voucher and a letter of apology. Hmmm not enough me thinks. Be interested to know how you get on. Good Luck

Answer 3

This is really useful site if you're in the USA
http://www.whatsthatbug.com/

This is not so /helpful but you never know
http://www.food.gov.uk

or for completely useless advice
"Help! Sainsbury's manager there's a worm in my lunch!"
"Ah! I see. One of the 'taste the difference' range."

http://www.infomat.net/1/playground/jokes/waiter.asp

Answer 4

put it in a plastic bag (sorry including bits from your mouth that has the worm)

take it to sainsbury's customer service, kick up a big fuss shout and say you want compensation !!

i once had a maggot in my yogurt, they have me 15 pounds to shut up ! :)

Answer 5

It was probably a maggot.A fly laid its egg in your sandwich.If the maggot was quite large,then it hatched before and ate a bit of your sandwich.If it wasnt that big than it just hatched a few momments before you ate the whole thing.

Answer 6

I had a twig in mine and Sainsburys said wer'e not suprised we have got branches everywhere !!

Answer 7

HEY! Dont tell every one, they'll all want one. Jamie Oliver will be proud, all that extra protein.

Answer 8

You can go to www.earthlife.net/insects/classtax.html
and see if you can find something to help you out. I don't think that I would go to that restaurant again, though!

Answer 9

Well, they did say that you would 'Taste the Difference'. So what's your problem?

Answer 10

Hope you threw up all over them too.