rotten fish

[Thing]

My nephew ate some fish food (flakes) when he was 2 or 3 - he didn't snuff it from fish food poisoning
he just kept running around breaking everything like he usually does, didn't even get sick

[G00GS]

Ash, Really? right outa left field...

[kadee]

Changing their procedures is the perfect result. Why, what do you suggest?

[ash_moo]

surely this is serious, "change their procedures" hardly seems a good enough response to the health department.
surely more should be done. people could die from fish food poisoning!

[jm30]

I find this whole story to be fishy. Excuse the pun..

First off, you say your whole family was ill. Later you say that only 2 people tasted the fish.

Here's what I have a problem with.

You cook the fish and don't notice a odd smell. We have cooked chicken that was frozen and as soon as it defrosts you notice a funny smell and texture to the food, so you chuck it.

2 people place the fish in their mouth, chew and swallow the food. Now, no only do I find it unlikely that you could consume rotten seafood and be none the wiser, but I also doubt that a mouthful of rotten fish could cause anything more than a upset tummy or at the worst, a bit of a spew and perhaps some gastric. However, you would normally notice off seafood very quickly as soon as you place it in your mouth and one would expect you would spit it out, rather than eat it.

Woolies possibly could have handled the situation better. However, my first action would have been to return the food to them and tell them it was spoiled, rather than to send the food away for a lab analysis. Perhaps if someone was in hospital due to it, I would have. I agree they should have contacted you as soon as they had results and spoke with you, however, they have specialty areas who deal with these types of problem.

As for financial compensation, I'm amazed you haven't accepted the offer of $50 and even more amazed you didn't accept $150!!

You are out of pocket the price of 6 pieces of fish and some vegies. What is the real cost of that? Fish, I guess $5 a piece, so $30 and if you assumed $20 for vegies I guess that would be fairly close.

If you went to a restaurant and 6 people were served off fish, you would have the meal on the house. Probably a bottle of wine or something else like that, but not cash money, or a free meal on your next visit.

I'm curios also as to what you want from Woolies. After an inspection, they have changed their policies so that this is less likely to happen. When you're dealing with fresh seafood, there is always some risk involved. They have offered you a gift certificate for what most people would consider to be a fair amount. Heck, for us, $150 would be 2 weeks shopping money.

Normally, you would be entitled to the price of the goods refunded to you and anything else would be a gesture of good will.

Take the gift certificate and either buy your fish from a fish market, or if you buy from Woolies again, don't but frozen fish and ask to smell the fish before you buy it. We have bought fish from our local supermarkets for a fair while on and off and have never had a problem. Obviously you were unlucky, but it's not a case that will result in a massive payout for you.

[mouldenbee]

Take the money and run, you have had a win

[figgy]

"It is not just about the money, but that amount would not pay for a meal out for all of us." - Why should Woolworths pay for a meal out for all of you?

I think this is totally about the money. Your balance of compensation for your degree of inconvenience is grossly unbalanced.

And yeah Im a lawyer for Woolworths... actually if I was, I would be advising my client to take the $150 offer from the table and invite you to sue. Your story doesn't add up, I see no real evidence of illness or sickness and only minor inconvenience to a faily meal.

[kadee]

Sounds like the two and the four year old were crying from the commotion that you adults made.

I find it incredible that your family is so traumatised and fragile after one adult and one child just 'tasted' a bit of off food. Happens to us all, no therapy required.

You state Woolworths has changed procedures due to this - surely the outcome you wanted. They've offered you above and beyond your losses which you refused because it's not about the money.

So what more DO you want exactly?

[annunziata]

It is not just about the money, but that amount would not pay for a meal out for all of us. It is about Woolworths ensuring no rotten food is sold. If this fish was sold at a small cafe, for instance, it would probably have been shut down. I have smelled rotten fish before and this fish did not smell, although I not not put my nose right up to it! As the Health Officer said "this is past off, it is very old!" I am not a scientist so I do not know why the fish did not reek, it is a mystery to us. As my daughter said, in all the years we have had family meals "you have never so much as given us a mild tummy upset". The night in question was very upsetting for all of us. And, there are no fishmongers close to where we live. You almost sound as though you are a lawyer working for Woolworths!

[figgy]

I would think that the offer of $150 for a disruption to a meal over some questionable fish is more than fair. If you think they will just keep upping the amount they offer until you say yes, you may be disappointed.

The way your original post read, "which made our family of six ill" I was imagining 6 family members hospitalised, weeks off work and Hail Marys.

You made dinner, 2 of you taste it, seemed off, dinner in the bin - at the very least returning the product to Woolies would have seen you get your money back.

You mention an admission of liability.... such a thing cannot be done by a third party, an admission of such would actually need to come from Woolworths, not some guy in a lab.

I'd be inclined to take their generous offer and in future buy fresh fish from a fishmonger.

[kadee]

ok thanks. Why didn't you take the $150? are you taking action?

be a whole lot easier if you would simply post the whole story.

[annunziata]

I refused over the phone to accept the $50.00 voucher. I then received the letter offering me a $150.00 voucher which I had ten days to accept. I also refused this by phone.

[annunziata]

I bought the fish on Friday 18 Dec 2009 and took most of it to Wyndham Vale council the following Monday after immediately freezing it. Because of the Christmas break I was told it would be mid January before I would get the results. Another 3 or 4 weeks lapsed so I rang the council and they told me they had already sent the results to Woolworths but had forgotten to send them to me so I asked them to email them to me that day which they did. I was shocked when I read the two lab reports. I received a letter from Woolworths Ltd on 15 Feb 2010 after a phone call offering me a $50.00 voucher.

[kadee]

Did you accept the voucher? Really hard to get all the info..how long ago was this incident?

[annunziata]

The Liability Manager was a woman and she offered me a $50.00 voucher which I thought was totally inadequate in light of the fact that what was to be a happy family gathering turned into a nightmare with plates quickly removed from the table, food thrown out, and a two and four year old crying because of the commotion. The boys' father was one who took a mouthful of the fish a it made him dry retch. There was absolutely no apology from Woolworths or the manager from the Wyndham Square store.