'It was absolutely disgusting' Teacher's horror to find chocolate bar 'covered in maggots'
An Irishwoman has claimed she was physically sick after noticing the Cadbury chocolate bar she was eating was covered in live and dead maggots.
Louise Daly, a teacher who is based in Manhattan, New York, was left repulsed after biting into the snack. The company has said it is taking the complaint ‘extremely seriously’ and intends on carrying out an investigation.
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Ms Daly told EVOKE’s sister paper the Irish Daily Mail she purchased the chocolate bar at an Irish store in New York earlier this month and didn’t suspect anything unusual until she opened the wrapper at home.
Louise Daly has claimed she was physically sick after noticing the Cadbury chocolate bar she was eating was covered in live and dead maggots. Pic: Supplied
‘After I had eaten a square I noticed white dots on the chocolate, which were probably eggs,’ she said. ‘I didn’t think much of it and figured they were caused during transportation, but when I fully opened the wrapper I could see live and dead maggots crawling around, all encased at the back of the bar. It was absolutely disgusting and I got sick in the bin. I took one or two pictures of the bar before throwing it away. I haven’t looked at chocolate since because the experience has completely turned my stomach.’
Ms Daly reported what happened to Cadbury. ‘The bar was fully wrapped when I bought it and was in date until August 2024,’ she said. ‘I sent Cadbury an email of complaint with the barcode and a picture of the batch number attached. They asked me to send them an image of the bar… ‘The Food [Safety] Authority of Ireland has been in touch so I’m also going to report what happened to them.’
The teacher, who is back in New York after visiting family in Ireland, fears the chocolate she ate was part of a maggot-filled batch which has already been distributed and sold. ‘I don’t understand how something like this can happen in a massive company like Cadbury,’ she added. ‘I was flying home to Ireland two days after this happened and was worried that I would be too sick to get on the plane. Luckily, I only ate one square of it and was fine. It’s fair to say I won’t be buying Cadbury any time soon,’ she said.
Louise Daly, who has claimed she was physically sick after noticing the Cadbury chocolate bar she was eating was covered in live and dead maggots. Pic: Supplied
In response, a spokesperson from Cadbury said: ‘The quality of our products is of the utmost importance to us and we take all complaints extremely seriously. We will follow up with the individual for further information so that this matter can be further investigated.’
Last night, Mondelez International, which owns Cadbury, issued an apology to Ms Daly. ‘We would like to sincerely apologise for the unpleasant experience you had with our product,’ it stated. ‘We would appreciate the opportunity to discuss this matter with you further.’
In addition, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland confirmed it had referred her complaint on to the environmental health office of the HSE to investigate. However, it is unclear whether the Cadbury bar she purchased was made in Ireland. Cadbury Ireland is a subsidiary of Cadbury, currently owned by Mondelez International. Cadbury Ireland exports more than 200 of its products to 30 countries worldwide, and uses local ingredients.