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A pregnant woman has slammed supermarket staff who refused to sell her a block of Cheddar cheese - because it was too "dangerous".
Janet Lehain, from Bedford, had to lie and promise she would not eat the cheese herself before the Sainsbury's delicatessen worker let her buy it.
Supermarket bosses have admitted the member of staff got it wrong. Pregnant women are only advised to avoid eating soft, unripened cheeses.
Ms Lehain, who is pregnant with her third child, said the bizarre conversation in the supermarket in Clapham was an affront to common sense.
In a formal letter of complaint she said: "It was the most patronising encounter I have had the misfortune of experiencing in a long time and made worse by the fact it was entirely unexpected given the seemingly simple task. She told me how lucky my generation of pregnant women are to have such information available to them because this was not the case 'in her day'.
"How ridiculous that I had to lie in order to buy a piece of cheese. It is not the job of a supermarket to tell people what they should or not be eating.
"If the Government in its wisdom has made supermarkets guardians of public health without me noticing, then I should like to leave the country now."
Reader views (11)
Jessica: for a woman to vilify another woman for being 'hormonal' because she is pregnant is outrageous! I daresay the root of the problem was not the shop assistant's concern so much as the shop assistant's hectoring attitude. Like your message, it all comes down to the tone. For example, you probably wouldn't find it patronising if I was to say "Jessica, I know you mean well but in actual fact soft cheese doesn't cause a problem with salmonella, I think you'll find it contains Listeria" that would be quite nice - but if I was to say "It doesn't contain SALMONELLA it contains LISTERIA: GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT, STUPID!" that might be deemed quite offensive . . .
Do you see?
- Roz, France, 06/10/2009 09:51
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Jessica, seriously? I'm ignorant? How about pregnant mothers eating unpasteurised products? Presumably they're not ignorant and not at all deserving of any Darwinian consequences? I bet you're one of those people who berate others in the street because they're not conforming to the Health and Safety Executive’s advice on the correct disposal of waste (and you know every waste sub category and it’s correct disposal method). The nanny state, you’ve got to love it, it congratulates idiots and berates the intelligent.
- Bob, Cheam, 06/10/2009 09:44
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Give me cheese, or give me death!
- Threaded, Roskilde, Denmark, 06/10/2009 09:37
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I camembert a situation like this to continue. Edam shame it had to happen at all!
- Von Cheam, Cheam, 06/10/2009 06:58
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Whilst this appears at first glance to be mainly a source of mirth to many people it is indicative of the increasingly oppressive and authoritarian country in which we now live thanks to 12 years of a Labour government and the increasing dominance of the health and safety lunatics.
It is not for either supermarket staff or government jobsworths to be telling any of us what we can and cannot eat - BUTT OUT OF OUR LIVES YOU ARE NOT WELCOME!
- Matthew, London, UK, 06/10/2009 00:15
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'Bob of Cheam' shows remarkable ignorance. That lady serving at the cheese counter in the supermarket was only trying to inform her client of the dangers of eating cheese whilst pregnantm - she should be commended. The fact that she put cheddar in the list of dangerous cheeses is beside the point, she was only trying to inform the customer (who is clearly hormone sensitive). Had she served her a cheese that would ultimately have caused the death of the baby through salmonella, she would be not have been vilified as she is being now.
- Jessica, london, 05/10/2009 20:45
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"Supermarket bosses have admitted the member of staff got it wrong. Pregnant women are only advised to avoid eating soft, unripened cheeses." So if she had been attempting to purchase a "soft, unripened cheese" would it have then been ok to have refused to serve her?
- Amanda, London, 05/10/2009 15:51
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Dangerous stuff, cheese, yer know. Supposing a great, big block of it fell from a great height and landed on yer head. Could do yer a mischief, I mean ............
- Graham Rodhouse, Helmond, Netherlands, 05/10/2009 15:02
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Goes to show cheese counter staff should think "Caerphilly" before opening their mouths.
- Phil, Surrey, 05/10/2009 13:51
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It's a supermarket, nothing personal but supermarket staff aren't paid peanuts for nothing.
- Bob, Cheam, 05/10/2009 13:25
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i must admit i 'cheddar' tear when i heard this. I didn't 'brie-ve' it at first!
- Gary, wycombe, 05/10/2009 12:50
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