- Charlene Gatenby, 29, said she was horrified after buying the mix in Bradford
- The mother-of-three filmed herself pouring out contents after feeling a lump
- She said she was ‘absolutely fuming’ when she saw egg-sized piece of mould
A mother-of-three claims she saw an egg-sized lump of mould tumble out of a Cow & Gate milk bottle as she went to feed her daughter.
Charlene Gatenby, 29, said she was furious to a ball fall from in-date formula she’d bought for her 11-month-old.
She said feeding Blake in Shipley, Bradford, was interrupted as she filmed herself pouring out the mix after feeling a heavy substance at the bottle’s base.
Charlene Gatenby says she filmed herself (left) pouring out the bottle’s contents to reveal brown and yellow ball of mould (right)
The West Yorkshire parent told The Sun a ‘disgusting brown, yellow and soft’ ball resembling a slug came out.
‘The lump was huge, about the size of an egg, it just popped out,’ she said. ‘I am absolutely fuming. Sometimes products aren’t 100 per cent but this is next level.’
Mrs Gatenby says the incident left her even more stressed as her husband awaits an operation
The ambulance driver – who also has a two-year-old and 14-year-old – said it added more stress to her life as husband Greg Gatenby awaits an operation.
The 34-year-old is set to have his infected intestines removed at Airedale General Hospital.
Charlene said it was the ‘last thing’ she needed and added Blake suffers stomachaches.
‘I think she would have had to go to hospital if she’d eaten any of that,’ she said.
She said she purchased the 6-12 months follow-on milk from Sainsbury’s in Shipley about four months before the displayed expiry date.
Now she wants to warn other parents after she says she was greeted with the lump just one after buying the bottle. She said it risked leaving new mothers ‘dithering’ wrecks.
Mrs Gatenby says she bought the formula (left) with months until the expiry date (right) and poured it out just one day after purchase
A Cow & Gate spokeswoman said no other complaints had been received and added formulas are ‘made in a highly controlled and hygienic environment’ and heat-treated before being sealed with an airtight vacuum.
‘We have spoken to Ms Smith to apologise and we have sent her some special packaging so we can get the bottle back to investigate,’ she added.