An investigation has been launched after an airgun pellet was discovered inside a supermarket Easter egg over the weekend.
Auckland resident Karl Evans found the object inside the egg after purchasing it from Pukekohe's Countdown South on Saturday.
"My partner and I got a packet of Cadbury's Pinky Marshmallow Eggs just as a little Easter treat," he explained to Newshub.
"I was just chewing away on one side, and I felt something hard."
"Initially I thought it was hardened caramel, then I moved it to the other side and bit down quite hard and it was really sore, at that point I realised it was definitely not caramel," he said.
"It was really hard, after the second bite I could tell it was steel, so we started looking through the marshmallow and then we saw what it was.
"I was about to swallow it."
He said he has "serious concerns" for others who could experience the same situation.
"What about those kids who eat these eggs? Imagine that scratching the shit out of your throat when eating it. It's some sort of bullet, not just a foreign object," he said.
"They could choke, and it would be so dangerous if that got lodged in their throat or even once it's in the body what could it do in there?
"That can't be good for anyone".
He said he has a message for parents looking to treat their children this Easter.
"Just make sure you have a proper look at the packet before you buy it," he said.
"It's put us off ever buying it again, and those are our favourite."
Evans said he later returned to the store along with his partner, where he discovered the box containing the packets of marshmallows had a hole underneath it.
"It would have taken a lot of force to get it through the box, and all those layers of packaging," he said.
"What are they even using the bullets for?"
In a statement from New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) on Monday, deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said it was advised of the situation by Woolworths.
"A customer found a small metal pellet in a marshmallow egg from Countdown Pukekohe South. We are investigating the incident," he told Newshub.
"Early indications from Woolworths are this may have happened due to pest management activities for birds, although this is yet to be confirmed.
"There are strict protocols for using air rifles for bird control, and we will be looking into this as part of our investigation."
Arbuckle said Woolworths stores have been asked to check their stock for any other pellets, and a food compliance officer will be sent to the Pukekohe store.
"We are concerned that this has happened and will work with Woolworths to get to the bottom of what went wrong," he said.
A Woolworths spokesperson told Newshub on Wednesday, that the store has now worked with pest control to investigate the incident.
"Having worked with our pest management partner Rentokil Initial to thoroughly investigate this situation we are confident the damage did not occur in our store," they said.
"However, the customer did purchase a damaged product from us so we are replacing it and putting the situation right for them."
