Cockroach pizza, anyone?

This isn't just any cockroach... this is the dead insect that topped a Marks & Spencer pizza

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 6:28 PM on 3rd March 2011

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Its food has a reputation for quality that surpasses all others.

So when Jemma Cohen and Christyanna Mendel started eating their Marks & Spencer pizza, they were surprised to find an unexpected ingredient.

A dead cockroach was among the toppings on the roasted vegetable and pesto pizza bought in a branch in Loughton, Essex.

Putting the pest in pesto: 'I thought it was a bit of burnt cheese,' said Jemma Cohen after spotting the cockroach in the M&S pizza she and Christyanna Mendel had intended to eat

The two girls, both 28, began to be sick when they spotted the dead insect, which was missing a leg.

Miss Cohen said: 'I had picked the cockroach off the crust, assuming it was a piece of burnt cheese.

'But as we were taking the plates through to the kitchen, we inspected it and realised what it was.'

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She added: 'We both screamed and even now it makes my skin crawl.

Mrs Mendel, of Romford, said: 'I'm disgusted by the whole thing and won't be stepping foot in M&S again.

I threw up: Jemma Cohen complained to Marks & Spencer about the insect

'I've always been willing to pay that little bit extra for their food because I believed it to be a higher standard than anywhere else but they've lost my custom.

She said she complained to the store and head office the following day.

'I was told to fill in a complaint form and bring the remains of the pizza in to the store where I would be given a refund.

'Everyone was very blase about the incident and I feel like I've been fobbed off.'

'It was an awful experience and I was physically sick that night.

'I had to throw away all of the other food I bought. The two close friends had met up for dinner for the first time since Mrs Mendel moved back to Romford from Cyprus where she lived for two years.

'I'm not sure where this pizza has been made but clearly the warehouse or factory needs to employ better health and safety measures,' said Mrs Mendel.

A Marks & Spencer spokesman said: 'This is a very serious complaint and we need to get the product and packaging from the customer so we can begin a thorough investigation.

'We have a comprehensive process in place to do this but are not able to do so without the customer sending the product to us.

'Mrs Mendel has not been in touch with us so far but if she can get in touch with us through our customer services team (who are available 24 hours a day) we can investigate properly.'