A Scots Aldi customer said he was almost sick when he opened a packet of microwavable rice and discovered it had gone off before turning black.
Douglas MacDonald said the smell inside the mixed pepper rice he had purchased from Aldi on Glasgow Road, Perth for 59p last month almost knocked him out when he opened it to have for his dinner on Tuesday night.
The 48-year-old said he was horrified and immediately tossed the rice in the bin before later retrieving it so he could lodged a complaint with the supermarket.
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The rice which is usually yellow coloured, appears to have turned jet black.
Speaking to the Daily Record, the Perth dad said: "I felt physically sick seeing it. It was stinking. The smell could have knocked you out.
"I put it in the bin then thought to myself, no Aldi should see this. I didn't even check the other packs I got, I just tossed them all.
"I had a real sudden sense of fear not knowing what it was. It could have been contaminated with anything.
I'm not complaining because of the money. It was only 59p. I just want Aldi to see this and make sure it doesn't happen again."
Douglas said the 'vile' rice ruined his family's dinner plans.
He added: "I was about to have homemade chicken curry and rice but that ended up as curry and chips
"The family ended up with a frozen pizza."
After complaining to Aldi, the supermarket have told Douglas to return the rice to the store for a full refund.
Douglas said the company was unable to confirm what exactly had happened to the rice to cause it to turn black and smelly, however they believe it may have been due to a breach in the packaging which has allowed air to enter and caused the item to perish.
He added: "I had to laugh as well at taking it back for 59p refund. It will cost me more to get there.
"I'll not be buying bagged rice again. I've been totally put off."
An Aldi spokesperson said: “Although very rare, incidents like this can occasionally occur if packaging is damaged at any point before the product is consumed, as the contents may be exposed to air.
"We have apologised for any inconvenience this may have caused Mr Macdonald and we’ve asked him to return the product packaging to store for a full refund.”
