Dubai shopper finds maggot and dead fly in biscuit packet

Dubai: Dubai Municipality has fined a manufacturing company for a dead fly and maggot found inside one of their biscuits that was bought by a Dubai resident at a local grocery.

The municipality’s action came following a complaint from 50-year-old Dubai resident Roberto Gergio, whose name has been changed on request, who was shocked by what he saw after opening a packet of Britannia biscuits.

Gergio bought a “buy six, get two free” Good Day Cashew Cookies at a local grocery store in the first of week of March. The biscuits are due to expire in September, according to the packaging. After eating two packets, he was startled when he opened the third.

“I saw a black form stuck inside the cover and another foreign object lying on the first biscuit. Upon close scrutiny, I realised they were a dead fly and a maggot respectively,” Gergio, a media professional, told Gulf News.

“I had finished eating two packets when I began to notice what I was eating.”

Gergio said he took photos of the insects and immediately contacted Dubai Municipality.

After receiving Gergio’s complaint, an official from the municipality’s call centre contacted him to ensure the validity of his complaint.

Municipal inspectors then visited the shop that sold the biscuits, who then contacted the distributor, as the biscuits were manufactured in Oman. The municipality contacted the factory to check on how the fly made it into the packaging and to take the necessary correctional measures.

The complaint was proved valid and the manufacturing company was fined, an official said, without elaborating on the amount of the fine.