SINGAPORE - A father of two encountered an unpleasant surprise when he opened a packet of quail eggs bought from an NTUC FairPrice outlet in Ang Mo Kio on Sunday (Feb 24).
Mr Tan Jian Hong, 38, saw several maggots crawling out of one of the eggs, which had cracked open.
The packet of Chef Brand quail eggs was bought from the FairPrice outlet at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 on Sunday morning, and belonged to a batch which expires on March 11.
Mr Tan, the chief executive of an artificial intelligence company, told The Straits Times that he had checked the packaging before purchasing the eggs, and they were intact when he bought them.
On his drive home, he noticed a stench in the car but did not think much of it.
"It was only when I reached home that I realised that one of the eggs might have cracked on the way back," Mr Tan said.
He posted a video and several pictures of the packet of eggs as well as a copy of his purchase receipt on Facebook on Sunday.
In the video, several maggots can be seen crawling around a cracked egg.
Mr Tan had intended to hard-boil the quail eggs for his two children, aged two and six, but decided that it was safer to throw all the eggs away as it would be difficult to spot the maggots when the eggs were boiled.
He said that FairPrice has contacted him about the issue, and he was offered a refund for the packet of quail eggs, which cost $2.05.
In response to queries, a FairPrice spokesman confirmed that the supermarket chain had offered the customer a full refund and apologised for the incident.
"We are working closely with our supplier to investigate the matter," the spokesman said, adding that FairPrice takes food safety and quality matters very seriously.
FairPrice said that it has a policy which allows customers to return or exchange products that are of an unsatisfactory quality at the store of purchase and with a valid receipt.
Customers who have queries can contact FairPrice's customer relations hotline on 6552-2722 or e-email general.feedback@fairprice.com.sg.
ST has contacted the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) for more information.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.