Dad bites off more than he can chew with 'disgusting' snack bought in Kimberley

For much to his horror, a stone-like bone, about one-inch square, dropped out, and he was left thanking his lucky stars he hadn’t swallowed it.

But even more galling for Paul, 39, was that neither Sainsbury’s, nor the council’s environmental health department, appeared to fully investigate his complaint.

The steak puff pastry slice was a Sainsbury’s own-brand that he bought as part of a two-pack, costing £1.95, from the Main Street supermarket after taking his two children swimming at nearby Kimberley Leisure Centre.

Paul, a self-employed structural engineer, took one of the slices to work at his office in Derby and cooked it for his lunch.

"I’d eaten about three-quarters of it when I bit on something hard,” he said. “I spat the bone out with some gristle and it clinked on my plate. It was disgusting.”

Paul, who lives at Common Side in Selston, complained to Sainsbury’s and also got in touch with Broxtowe Borough Council, which covers the Kimberley and Eastwood area.

“Sainsbury’s fobbed me off with a default email and a £10 voucher,” said Paul. “I wasn’t interested in money or compensation. I just wanted them to take an interest.

"No-one seemed to care that this bone had been found. No-one took an interest in getting to the bottom of it and seeing if there was a problem with the producers who supply these items.”

The council did take an interest, but Paul explained: “An environmental health officer said he couldn’t take it any further because I couldn’t provide certain information, such as a receipt and the manufacturer’s number and batch code.

"He described it as an incomplete chain of evidence. But I didn’t have a receipt because I bought the steak slice from a self-service machine and chose not to print one. I’d also thrown away the packaging in a communal bin.”

Paul is concerned that the bone could have had more dangerous consequences, particularly if a child had been eating the steak slice.

"I am certainly a bit more cautious buying such products now,” he said.

A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said: “Cases like this are extremely rare because we have processes in place to prevent them.

"We are in touch with Mr Hand to apologise for his experience, and to offer a small gesture of goodwill which he can put towards his next shop with us.”

Anthony Stafford, environmental health officer for Broxtowe Council, said in an email to Paul: “Without specific details, it will not be possible to investigate this complaint further.

"You have already directed your complaint to Sainsbury’s, and this should have been followed through with its internal procedures back to the food manufacturing premises.”

Meanwhile, on Sainsbury’s own website, the steak slices that Paul bought receive some poor reviews from shoppers, earning only two stars out of five.

One shopper wrote: “The worst slice ever. I threw it in the bin. Dreadful. Ruined our meal. I’m surprised Sainsbury’s are selling rubbish like this.”

Another shopper said the slice was of such “poor quality” that she gave it to her dog.