Exmouth policeman stung over wasp find
AN Exmouth policeman was victim of a sting operation after finding a dried wasp in his breakfast cereal.
AN Exmouth policeman was victim of a sting operation after finding a dried wasp in his breakfast cereal.
Detective Constable Darren Campbell, 36, received an apology from Dorset Cereals after spotting a wasp in his muesli.
The dad-of-two said he only noticed the dead insect in the box of Simply Fruity Muesli because he was waiting for his computer to start.
Mr Campbell said the wasp had had a piece of oat stuck to it and had not flown into the bowl.
He said the experience of discovering the dead insect had put him off eating muesli again.
Keen surfer Mr Campbell, who bought the box of cereal from Tesco, in Salterton Road, Exmouth, posted the wasp to the cereal company, emailed a complaint and received vouchers and an apology in return.
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Mr Campbell, from Ottery St Mary, said: "I opened the box, poured myself a bowl and added some lovely pure skimmed milk.
"I had one mouthful before noticing a winged insect mixed in with the fruity pieces.
"The wasp was clearly dried out - it had obviously gone through the same process as the cereal itself.
"It had a piece of oak stuck to it. There was no way it could have flown into the bowl.
"They boasted on the box about a delicious blend of multi grain flakes with sweet papaya, mouth-watering pineapple, juicy sultanas and Chilean flame raisins,
"Not once did I see 'this product may contain wasps' on the box. "There was no mention of freeze dried vermin."
Lucy Gardiner, spokeswoman for Dorset Cereals, which is based in Poundbury, Dorset, said: "My heartfelt apologies for the discovery of a dead wasp in your cereal. It must have been an awful shock. It was certainly a nasty surprise for us.
"All our fruit, nuts and seeds are fumigated by our suppliers, we have a strict pest control regime in the factory and all these ingredients are visually inspected before being blended.
"Clearly something has gone wrong and we are taking it up with our suppliers urgently.
