Woolworths apologises after 'maggots' found near chicken at Johannesburg store

Woolworths has apologised and launched an investigation after a video appeared to show fly larvae near chicken packs at its Bel Air store in Johannesburg.

Woolworths has apologised after a customer raised concerns over a video allegedly showing fly larvae near packs of chicken at its Bel Air store in Johannesburg.

A customer, John Mawere, shared a video on social media showing what appeared to be maggots on shelves at the store.

Mawere said he had trusted Woolworths for years because of its reputation for quality, freshness and high standards.

He said the incident had undermined his confidence in the retailer and called for an explanation of what had happened and what measures would be taken to prevent a recurrence.

Woolworths said it was alerted to the incident on Sunday, September 6, when a customer shopping at its Bel Air store made staff aware of fly larvae near packs of chicken.

“Independent hygiene experts were called to the store, all product was removed, and a deep clean was initiated,” the retailer said.

Woolworths described the incident as “unique and isolated” and said a full investigation was under way to establish the root cause.

The retailer said the store had recently undergone a hygiene audit, during which no anomalies were detected.

“This is a unique and isolated incident which has triggered a full, ongoing investigation to determine the root cause,” Woolworths said.

The retailer acknowledged that the incident had let customers down and apologised.

“We are taking every measure to ensure this does not happen again,” it said.