PRESS ASSOCIATION -- Tesco has launched an investigation after the carcass of a dead and "decomposed" bird was found in one of its pre-prepared salads by a woman as she sat down to her dinner.
Paul Streeter said his girlfriend found the bird when cutting through leaves he served in a bowl to go with a pizza for her and their children's dinner last Saturday.
He had put their food on the table at their home in Weare, Somerset, before returning to the kitchen.
He told the BBC his girlfriend was sick after making the discovery as she tucked into the baby leaf and rocket salad he bought at the supermarket's branch in Burnham-on-Sea.
"I couldn't believe my eyes. It was horrific. She was seconds away from eating it," he said.
"She had ladled the salad on to her plate and thought she was cutting into one of the dark leaves and what she found was a dead bird.
"I didn't know what to think. I was concerned about the health of my family as they had eaten some of the salad."
Tesco said it had apologised to Mr Streeter and his family and was looking into the matter.
A Tesco spokeswoman said: "We take matters of this kind extremely seriously and are very disappointed to learn of this incident.
"Ensuring our food is of the highest quality is extremely important to us and we and our suppliers have robust systems in place to prevent foreign objects getting into products."