A food truck in Canberra which allegedly served a take away meal infested with maggots has been allowed to continue trading as usual.
What The Pho was serving customers at The Hamlet, an outdoor food village in the inner city suburb of Braddon, when it received complaints of alleged larva crawling through a customer’s meal.
A female customer claimed she was part-way through a Vietnamese dish from the establishment when she saw multiple live insects wriggling around inside, ABC News reports.
Video footage allegedly shows a mass amount of the tiny white worms maneuvering through what looks to be a chunky vegetable and meat dish.
The customer, who was dining with colleagues at the time, said she was sick after making the unpleasant discovery.
‘She didn’t know what to do. She sort of freaked out and next thing she’s over trying to actually throw up in the bin,’ her workmate Brendan Ryan told the publication.
The popular Vietnamese food stall has been issued a warning by ACT Health, but was allowed to continue trading because it’s alleged maggot issue didn’t warrant immediate closure.
‘This business is working with ACT Health to rectify the issues identified, during which time the business may continue trading,’ ACT Health said in a statement.
What The Pho was serving customers at The Hamlet in Canberra when a customer allegedly discovered maggots in her meal
Video footage allegedly shows a mass amount of the tiny wriggly bodies maneuvering through what appears to be a chunky vegetable and meat dish
Mr Ryan was unimpressed with the business’s reaction to being told there were maggots living in the food it had served.
He said the restaurant owner initially apologised, but after a check on the rest of his stock, he told the concerned colleague ‘the rest of it is alright’.
Mr Ryan was left ‘stunned’ at the owner’s lax approach to the potential public health hazard.
Owner of The Hamlet, Nik Bulum, said What The Pho would be kicked out of the village if the alleged maggots were found to be the fault of its owner.
The restaurant runs independently of The Hamlet and falls under separate management.
The food stall was issued a warning by ACT Health, but was allowed to continue trading because it’s alleged maggot issue didn’t warrant immediate closure