An environmental health investigation has been launched after a man found what he believes to be a parasitic worm in a Tesco chicken. Donald Cameron, 54, made the discovery as he ate the pre-cooked whole bird bought from the store in Holm Mains, Inverness.

He had gone to the branch during a power cut in October to pick up some food that didn’t require cooking while he had no electricity. But as he and a friend came to the end of the meal, he tore open a piece of breast meat and was horrified to see what looked like a parasitic worm, with “bruising where it had burrowed through the flesh”.

“I grew up in a rural community, beside a farm, and I have seen these things before,” he said. “I know what a devastating health effect they can have. It was just disgusting - absolutely rank. You could see the wee holes and bruising where the worm had burrowed through the flesh.

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“I spoke to the Tesco main office and they told me to hand it in at the store and get a reference number, so I did that on October 6. They gave me a refund of £7, or whatever it was, said they would be back in touch.”

Donald then heard nothing for six weeks so phoned head office again. “I could barely believe it when they said they hadn’t heard a thing about it and couldn't find the reference number,” he said. “With none of my phone calls to the store being answered, I again drove the 40-mile round trip to the Holm Mains branch and then spoke to somebody who went and got the manager.

“When the manager came down to speak to me, he said it was the first he had heard of it. Our chicken was then found stuffed in a fridge behind the store’s cigarette counter, where it had been left since I first handed it in. I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing. This was a contaminated chicken, with serious health risks.

“He apologised and said they were going to get it sorted. I pointed out that the chicken would be pretty much putrefied by now, after sitting for weeks in that fridge. We will probably never know now if there were other contaminated chickens within the same batch.”

Parasitic worms can cause a wide variety of illnesses in humans - sometimes severe - robbing the body of nutrients, causing inflammation and immune system dysfunction. Common effects include abdominal pain, diarrhoea, dramatic weight loss and malnutrition, severe anaemia from internal bleeding, and stunted growth in children. In severe cases, people can require surgery.

Disturbed by Tesco’s handling of his complaint, Donald reported the matter to Highland Council’s environmental health team on January 26. The council has confirmed that their officers are now investigating.

Tesco has now apologised, offering first £50, then £100 in Tesco vouchers as compensation, which Donald rejected. The supermarket chain is believed to be contesting the claim that the gruesome find was a parasitic worm, saying it was a naturally occurring blood vessel.

Four months on the matter is still not resolved. “I phoned the main office again and said I’d still heard nothing,” Donald said. “The customer care person got a hold of the manager, who had basically done nothing about it. It was pretty clear he had just hoped the problem was going to go away, but I wasn’t prepared to let it drop.

“I eat chicken contaminated by a parasitic worm. It hasn’t made me medically ill, but has certainly shaken me quite profoundly. I don’t think I will eat chicken again and I certainly wouldn’t trust food sold in that supermarket. The lack of action is an absolute disgrace. They offered me £50, then £100, but that would barely cover my petrol money and there’s a more serious issue at play, so I told them to stick it.”

In a statement, Tesco said: “We’re sorry to hear about Mr Cameron’s experience after raising a concern with a product. We work closely with our suppliers to ensure there are robust quality procedures in place for all products we sell. We have apologised to Mr Cameron and offered him a gesture of goodwill for the inconvenience caused.”

A Highland Council spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that a complaint was lodged with The Highland Council on January 26, 2026 re this matter and it is currently under investigation by Environmental Health.”