21 October 2023 , 12:40
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Images show a block of mouldy cheese that a shopper bought at a Lidl store leaving him stunned.
The man, shopper, who wishes to remain anonymous, had purchased the Welsh mature cheddar from the Cross Hands store in Carmarthenshire for £4.99. He said: "As I was walking around the store, I picked up the cheese and thought it was just a bit of blue you sometimes get on cheese so didn't think much of it."
It was when he got home that he was shocked to find it was mouldy despite the 'best before date' being January 3, 2024. He hasn't been able to return the cheese as he doesn't live nearby.
But he wanted to raise awareness over what happened. "I've never had any issues with Lidl before, I like shopping there, but that's not right," he stated. With mature cheddar, a crack can sometimes appear on the outside, allowing natural moulds to enter and create a gentle blue vein.
The man only realised it was mouldy when he got home (Media Wales)
The 'best before date' was January 3, 2024 (Media Wales)Pictures of the cheese bought at Lidl show white, green and brown patches on one end of the block, even though it's still two months before its 'best before' date. EatingWell magazine advises: "It's always good to check the appearance of cheese before purchasing it and shortly after you purchase it, too.
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"Not only will you be able to see whether the cheese already has any signs of spoilage, but you will also familiarize yourself with how the cheese is supposed to look. It can also help to do a bit of research on a particular aged cheese you've just obtained. This can include asking your cheesemonger or researching photos and videos online.
"Once the cheese starts changing too much from its original appearance, it might be time to discard it. If you start noticing patches of different types of fuzz in different colours or textures, that's a sign that the cheese has gone bad."
A representative for Lidl told WalesOnline: "We were very sorry to hear of this matter, as it is never our intention for a customer to be dissatisfied in any way. We work very closely with our suppliers to ensure that the products we sell are of the highest possible quality for our customers.
"We are, therefore, disappointed if our expected high standards were not met on this occasion. We encourage customers to get in touch with our customer care team should they have any concerns about a product, so that it can be properly looked into for them."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]