FURIOUS Tesco customers have claimed their Christmas Day was ruined after buying “rotten, rancid turkeys”.
Dozens of families have taken to social media saying they were left no meal altogether or had to order in emergency takeaways after discovering their Tesco turkeys had gone off.
Some customers abandoned their turkey dinners before even putting the birds in the oven as a result of the smell.
Others say the didn’t notice until they had started digging into their Christmas meal complaining that their turkey tasted like “bleach” and “acid”.
Instead of enjoying their festive meals with family, angered customers were taking to Facebook and Twitter on Christmas day to complain about turkeys, which cost up to £59 in the store’s Finest range, ruining their day.
One Twitter user, Jase? @SappninBitton, was forced to order in an emergency Chinese takeaway for his family in Glasgow after he discovered their turkey was rotten.
At almost 8pm on Christmas day, he wrote: “We’re sitting waiting on a Chinese coming after @Tesco ruined #ChristmasDinner.
“Thank the lord for @JustEatUK. Think this is the first time I’ve ever spent money on Christmas day.
“What else you gonna do with eight hungry mouths and a rotten turkey. Think I’ll send Tesco the bill…”
He added: “I’ve seen a lot of people saying the same. Thankfully I noticed before cooking/eating it. I got refunded for my turkey but the whole meal was ruined.”
Kirsten Shore from Stafford wrote: “Snap! We had the same problem!
“Our first time hosting and a rotten turkey from @Tesco ruined our day! I’m devastated!
“Thanks @Tesco for selling me a gone off turkey and wrecking my first Christmas day cooked at my home!
“£250 wasted. An awful meal and eight sick people!”
She later added on Facebook: “I was very excited and worked super hard to make and
prepare Christmas dinner for my family for the first time ever but thanks to the Tesco I served them a rotten, racid turkey that was inedible.
“Not only that – the gravy was made from the turkey so that resulted in everyone’s meal ending up in the bin. Thanks Tesco!”
Karen Carter tweeted: “Thanks @Tesco for ruining our Christmas. Disgusting turkey I had delivered on Friday stinking and rotten. Just had to throw away.”
Jordan Shore from Manchester wrote: “Hi @Tesco we cooked a turkey from you today to find that it was totally inedible. Acid type taste is all I can describe.”
Julie Duer wrote: “@Tesco very disappointed as had the worst Christmas ever. Bought your Finest Turkey for Christmas lunch and Christmas morning your turkey was off.
“Ruined the whole day as only get all my family together once every two years. Cheers Tesco.”
Some furious, and hungry, customers also took to Facebook to vent about their ruined meals.
Kelly Greaves from Norton, Stoke-on-Trent, wrote: “Huge shout out to Tesco on selling us a rotten turkey – and judging by your Facebook and Twitter, we are one of many!
“The turkey smelt/tasted like bleach! Sadly with us making the gravy from the juices, and pouring it all over our vegetables and potatoes – the whole table of eight went hungry!
“We literally had NO Christmas dinner except a Christmas pudding.”
Jane Plant from Uttoxeter, Staffordshire contacted Tesco to tell them she had been blaming a strange smell in the house on her husbands feet, only to discover it was yet another rotten turkey.
She said: “So this evening i went to prepare my turkey like I do every Christmas Eve. The said turkey was purchased from Tesco Uttoxeter on Thursday 21st December.
“I’d actually smelt a funny smell in my house for the last couple of days and actually blamed my husbands feet.
“On opening the turkey I found it was in fact not my husbands feet but the extra large turkey that we were having for Christmas dinner.
“As it was 7.30pm on Christmas Eve there was nowhere I could actually get another one from so my husband went to Tesco Express with no smelly feet to be told there was nothing they could do about it and he had to purchase two joints of beef.
“We now have to have a completely different family Christmas meal so a big thanks Tesco for ruining our family christmas meal and furthermore making me apologise to my husband for blaming his feet
And Scott Barnwell wrote: “Thanks Tesco! No turkey for Christmas lunch as it is off, even though it is still in date.”
Last year, dozens of disappointed Tesco customers shared images online after cutting open their turkeys and discovering they were green inside.
The off-coloured meat was thought to be caused by an unharmful degenerative muscle condition in turkeys – commonly referred to as Green Muscle Disease.
It occurs after the inner breast muscle of the bird develops in a way that prevents blood supply from circulating, resulting in the green discolouration.
A Tesco spokesman today said, “We’ve sold hundreds of thousands of great quality British turkeys this Christmas.
“We have exceptionally high standards so we will look to address the small number of complaints in recent days.
“We will get in touch with each customer so we can investigate how these instances may have happened.”
