Renowned chocolate brand Lindt faces public scrutiny following an unsettling discovery by a customer — maggots found within their chocolate products.
Mellissa Ngcobo from Durban said she recently bought Lindt chocolates from Dischem in Gateway Mall and, to her surprise, they were spoiled even though the expiry date was 2025.
“I didn’t notice initially that they were spoiled because I bought a variety pack, which comes with different flavours- dark chocolate, milk chocolate, hazelnut etc.
“I had a few of them and then when I opened the hazelnut flavour on November 14, that’s when I noticed they were spoiled, maggots were popping out of it,” she said.
WATCH: Maggots coming out of the Lindt chocolates
@mellissagngcobo I opened the rest of the chocolates and more worms to find 🤢 @Dis-Chem #viralvideos #trendingvideo #trendingsong #kzntiktok #durban #gateway ♬ original sound - Sthuli Sasengweni
Ngcobo said she took to social media to post a video, showing maggots coming out of the chocolates because she wanted to not only to make the brand aware but to warn people as well.
After seeing the post, Lindt South Africa reached out to her on Instagram and asked her to lodge a formal complaint.
“We are so sorry to hear that you had an issue with one of our products as we pride ourselves on our quality.
“Please make use of our customer service form and be sure to input pictures of your slip as well as of the product so that we can decide on the best way forward,” said Lindt South Africa.
Ngcobo, who had already thrown away the slip, said she filed the complaint despite lacking sufficient documentation and is still waiting for the brand to respond.
However, she sent them proof of payment from her bank account, which shows that she did buy at Dischem.
When Independent Media Lifestyle reached out to Lindt’s publicist Zihle George, she said that she could not comment on the matter yet as she had to communicate with the client first but would provide an update next week.
In the meantime, this is a cautionary tale, especially for parents, to check if something is safe for consumption, more so given the rise in food poisoning incidents among children in the country.