84-year-olds horrified by 'dead snake' in Morrisons juice; store says mould

Two 84-year-old women in Doncaster say they were left horrified after discovering a long, dark object in a Morrisons carton of apple-and-mango juice. Betty Richards bought the 1-liter carton from the Armthorpe branch for her friend Julie Bircumshaw, who is also 84. Bircumshaw noticed some discolouration around the nozzle, but after tasting the juice she believed it was fine to drink. About a week later, Richards visited Bircumshaw's home and examined the nearly empty carton, noticing more discolouration around the nozzle. When she poured away the last drop, the object slithered into the sink and she said it looked like a 'dead snake'.

It was described as a dark string about 30 centimeters long. Richards said it appeared to have a face when viewed with a magnifying glass.

Morrisons has said its own team of experts examined the images and is extremely confident the object was mould formed by a compromised packaging. The retailer explained that the manufacturing process is fully enclosed and the liquid passes through a filter before being cartoned, which would prevent such a large item from entering the carton. A spokesperson added that mould can develop if packaging is damaged—it only takes a hole the size of a pin—and that damage could occur at any stage from production to sale or even in the customer's home. The spokesperson also apologized that Richards had not received the high standard of customer care the chain aims to provide.

The BBC reported that the image of the 'snake' was shown to experts at Leeds's Tropical World centre, but experts were unable to confirm whether the object was animal remains, mould, or something else. The incident has drawn attention to packaging integrity in the food-and-beverage supply chain, though authorities have not indicated any health risk or recall at this stage.