Asda apologises to customers over quality of food

ASDA has issued an apology to customers, after reports were made about the poor quality of its fruit and vegetables.

Following a number of representations to this newspaper, the Chronicle contacted Asda to ask if the deterioration in quality was a knock-on effect from Brexit or the Northern Ireland Protocol, however the multi-national chain declined to say.

One of those who felt the need to complain about the poor quality of produce was former Strabane teacher, Stephen Birkett.

“I am getting sick of buying so-called fresh food from your (Asda) store, only to find it unusable by its use-by date,” he wrote in a letter of complaint to Asda.

“Last week I bought clementines and the photo (pictured) was taken on August 2, the day before the use-by date. Even if OK when bought, your fruit and vegetables go bad very quickly.”

Mr Birkett went on to say that many of his friends have the same observations on deteriorating quality.

He continued, “Today (Monday August 9) this pack of spinach is a mushy mess and unusable. That’s why I felt I needed to complain.”

When contacted in relation to complaints, a spokesperson for the company said, “At Asda we pride ourselves on being able to offer the highest quality products possible and we are sorry that this customer purchased some fruit and veg from our Strabane store which he felt was not fresh. Customers who are unhappy with any of our products can receive a full refund upon returning the product to store with a receipt.’’