Maggots, starfish legs, and fingernails found in ALDI products

It had to be too good to be true – rip off brands, a clutter of useless homeware and a booze offering that lets us discard the lukewarm goon and drink like kings. ALDI was the rock that kept all of us scumbags afloat.

So, when news broke that a bunch of discount hungry Melburnians discovered a whole host of gross shit in their bargain produce, TheVine reluctantly breathed a sigh of despair.

Evidence really isn’t working in their favour. A couple in Abbotsford, keen to get stuck into Mother’s famous bolognese recipe, opened a jar of Romana tomato paste to discover an uninvited party of maggots creeping around town.  The chillers has also taken it upon themselves to settle amongst a packed of heavily discounted Mozart chocolates, an unexpected stocking filler during the Christmas period.

“I opened the wrapper and there was a maggot crawling out of the chocolate… They were my favourite chocolates, but I can’t even look at them now”, spoke a disgruntled customer with the heaviest of hearts. A lump of coal would have been a little more desirable.

Another customer opened a tin of Ocean Rice smoked mussels to find what appeared to be the leg of a starfish inside. Naturally, he was a little concerned: “some species of starfish are poisonous, so I sealed it in a plastic container in my fridge without eating any”.

Craving a sugary pick me up, a customer of Brunswick ALDI discovered a tasty lookin’ fingernail in a tub of salted caramel ice cream, then waited three months for a response from the customer complaints department. Nothing complements a dessert like a cheeky bit of fingernail.

Sure, maggots, fingernails and starfish limbs are pretty gross, but everyone knows that free stuff always tastes better. Still, it was always a matter of time before the bubble burst.

Words by Becky O’Malley