Woolworths - NOT your trusted brand

Swallowing a toothpick floating innocuously amongst sliced biltong-

1. Woolworths includes a 'foreign body' in and amongst its edible food items ie pre-packaged sliced biltong with a toothpick amongst it. 2. There is no cautionary notice on the package to alert the consumer of the product that such an item exists. 3. The potential complications caused by swallowing a toothpick are severe, in particular, given the sharp edges on both sides. Your body cannot digest wood. 4. "Ingested toothpicks are a relatively rare event, but may cause serious gut injuries with peritonitis, sepsis or death". Quote from https://pubmed/ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/***7 - sourced from Stellenbosch University Medical Research Intranet 5. No foreign body with potentially severe/fatal consequences should be enclosed amongst edible items without a clear cautionary notice on the packaging. 6. Placing the onus on the consumer to identify this body visually, without any prewarning of its presence, is both irresponsible and negligent on the part of Woolworths. Pick'nPay and Checkers do not include a toothpick with their sliced biltong. TKF Halaal Biltong does, with a clear cautionary notice "Tooth Pick Included" highlighted in red on their packaging. 7. The unwillingness of Woolworths to follow suit, despite my request, both astounds and appalls me. 8. Inadvertently swallowing a handful of biltong, including the toothpick, can and has happened. 9. This has resulted in both health risks, necessary medical procedures and consequent financial costs to the consumer. 10. As such, I feel it is my moral obligation to bring this to the attention of the unsuspecting Woolworths consumer. Woolworths clearly does not have your interests at heart.

PS I respectfully requested that Woolworths refunds me for actual medical costs incurred that was NOT covered by my Medical Aid scheme or Gap cover, furnishing them with all the relevant invoices. This included scans, ultrasounds, blood tests, a Colonoscopy and Gastroscopy totaling almost R 25 000. I received a 'gift card as a goodwill gesture' of R150. This borders on insulting.