Supermarket sells mouldy bagels
An Auckland shopper says she was ‘‘disappointed’’ to see the supermarket selling a shelf of mouldy bagels.
Nina Mo saw the mouldy multigrain Abe’s Bagels on Saturday night at Pak ’n Save Mt Albert. The bagels with a best before date of December 22, 2019, were still being sold yesterday morning when Stuff visited the supermarket.
Mo said despite the best before date, the bagels looked like they had ‘‘gone off’’ some time ago.
‘‘I was definitely more cautious of what I was putting in my trolley after seeing those bagels. Christmas is a busy shopping time for most people and it feels like supermarkets could try and sell anything in any state just to make money,’’ Mo said.
Pak ’n Save’s store manager Eric van den Hoven said he was not aware of the bagels being mouldy until Stuff inquired.
He said while the bagels would be taken off shelves, it was common for products to go mouldy in summer.
‘‘It’s no good; we’ll take them off the shelves. We get mouldy products this time of year with the humidity. With bagels, they get baked and then wrapped too soon so the moisture stays in the packaging and causes mould,’’ van den Hoven said.
He would not respond to how often staff checked bakery products were mouldy in summer.
Foodstuffs said it was looking into the matter.
Mo said she had lost trust in the supermarket.
Abe’s Bagels has been approached for comment.
A Ministry for Primary Industries spokeswoman said food businesses needed to ensure the food they sold was ‘‘safe and suitable’’.
‘‘Consumers may wish to follow up directly with stores for quality issues. If they do not receive an adequate response from the store, they should contact New Zealand Food Safety.’’
Last week the Commerce Commission charged Pak ’n Save Mangere for allegedly charging a higher price at the checkout than what was advertised online or at the supermarket shelf.