A mum was left disgusted after finding a 'live maggot ' wriggling around in the Cow & Gate formula that her seven-month-old baby had been eating, she claims.
Kim Mitchell claims she bought a tub of Cow & Gate formula from a Boots in West London earlier this month and had already used it to feed son Lochlan before discovering the 'maggot or worm' later the same day.
Stomach-churning footage shows a yellowy-brown grub or larvae writhing on the surface of the formula, before burrowing down into the white powder.
The 23-year-old says she is so traumatised that she vows never to use Cow & Gate again and after doing her own research, she was shocked to find that other mums had also claimed to have found maggots and mould in the formula.
Cow & Gate said it was 'very unlikely' it happened at their factory as it is a 'highly controlled and hygienic environment' but confirmed they had taken the container away for investigation.
In 2015, the brand recalled a batch of their museli for babies on a 'precautionary basis' after reports people had found 'insects' in them.
Kim, from Harrow, London, said: "I was horrified. If I'd opened the tub without feeding him, I would have been shocked but I wouldn't have gone so mad.
"I had already given him about five bottles so I was really worried for him and I was waiting for him to get sick.
"People are mad on sterilising things for babies and making sure things are clean. It should have been safe. I wouldn't use Cow and Gate now. It's put me off.
"I didn't examine it because I trust it to be fine. I gave him about four or five bottles then I saw the top of the milk move.
"When I looked at it, this little worm or maggot was crawling around and diving up and down in the milk.
"I used the scoop to put it on the kitchen side and recorded it.
"There could have been more in the bottom, I'm quite squeamish so I saw one and didn't look any further. I just sealed it up. I'd rather not know. It would make me feel worse."
The stay-at-home mum says she immediately sealed the tub and contacted the company who sent out a courier to collect the remaining formula and was told it had been sent off for an investigation.
Kim said: "I got in touch with them on Facebook and a manager called me back. They organised a courier to collect the tub of milk and they said I should hear back from them next week.
"In a panic, I googled Cow and Gate to see if anyone else had experienced anything similar and I found articles showing photos of the same kind of maggot I came across.
"The manager explained the factory process and how they vacuum out all the moisture and air from the tub but he said there might have been a break in the seal causing air to get in.
"[Incidents like this] seem to be happening time and time again. It's not a one time thing. I'm surprised he didn't get really ill. I want to make them aware that something needs to be done."
Kim's post racked up more than 3,000 shares where other new parents also swore they'd stop using Cow & Gate.
Kim said: "When I uploaded the video, I only did it for friends and family but a huge amount of people were sharing and liking it.
"How can it happen so often? As a mum, you want to stop it so it doesn't happen to anyone else. People in the comments were saying it's put them off Cow & Gate."
A Cow & Gate spokesperson said: "Here at Cow & Gate we know how distressing finding things like this can be for parents, which is why we responded immediately and started looking into this as soon as Ms Mitchell got in touch with us.
"To reassure all parents, we believe that it's very unlikely this could have happened at our factory as our formula milks are produced and packed in a highly controlled and hygienic environment, and the packs are sealed in a way that makes it highly unlikely for insects to get in or survive.
"We have checked with our factory and our quality control tests were operating correctly at the time the milk was produced. We have not received any other complaints of this nature about this batch of milk.
"We arranged a collection of Ms Mitchell’s products and are now running checks on these and other products to provide further reassurance."
Boots confirmed that they would be investigating with their supplier.
