Keen chocolate lovers were shocked to find a creepy-crawly surprise in their favourite Whittaker's bar.
The flatmate who bought the chocolate, who has asked to remain anonymous, opened her Berry and Biscuit bar on Sunday night for a snack before bed - and saw "cobwebs" hanging from the piece she had broken off.
"I was like, 'What the f**k?' So I opened it more, there was a maggot in it, and I just ran to my friend and said, 'Oh my God, there's a maggot in my chocolate, what do I do'," she told Newshub.
While the flatmates now believe it was a moth larva rather than a maggot, it was still an unwelcome surprise.
They shared a video in a Wellington community group on Facebook, showing the moth larva crawling on the chocolate. Many people in the comments responded with vomiting emojis, whereas others joked the bug made it a "protein bar".
The flatmates emailed Whittaker's on Sunday night and had a call from them first thing on Monday, during which the company was "very apologetic".
"They weren't at fault. They were really, really good to me and really nice," the flatmate said, adding that Whittaker's is sending them free chocolate as compensation.
Despite their close encounter with the bug, they said they will still eat the Berry and Biscuit bar and continue to buy "a lot" of chocolate.
A Whittaker's spokesperson told Newshub they are sorry to hear this happened. They said despite the rigorous quality control processes they have in place, there are things outside of their control that can result in a situation like this - "albeit very rarely".
"We have a comprehensive pest control programme in place at our factory, which is run by an accredited pest control company, and our operations are fully compliant with all food safety requirements. However, there are other ways product quality can be affected, for example from damage in transit or storage conditions in warehouses," Whittaker's said in a statement.
"We have thoroughly investigated this specific situation and remain confident in the robustness of the quality control processes we have in place. We have also sent the consumer who purchased this bar some replacement chocolate."
