Aldi chicken wing photo divides Aussie mums: 'Super disgusting'

Concerns regarding the quality control of poultry products have been raised by customers.

Despite the resounding love of Aldi's affordable groceries and ever-popular special buys, the discount retailer has recently found itself at the centre of a poultry controversy.

A disgruntled customer, bothered by an unexpected feathery surprise, took to the Aldi Mums Facebook group to recount her second disappointing experience with Aldi's chicken wings.

Aldi chicken wings Photo: Facebook/Aldi Mums
One customer had their feathers ruffled after finding her Aldi chicken wings partially unplucked. Photo: Facebook/Aldi Mums

Expressing her frustration, the customer shared an image of the offending product to the group, accompanied by a caption questioning the quality control of Aldi's poultry products:

"Is it only my luck," she wrote, "it's the second time our wings are not clean. Is this just an Aldi thing?"

Feathers fly as customers share mixed reactions

The photo of the unplucked chicken wing triggered a range of reactions within the online community. Some responses were lighthearted, with one person joking, "It's alive!!!!" However, many individuals expressed genuine disgust, with comments like "Yuck" and "Ewwww" and some even advising to throw out the wings.

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Instances of unexpected feathers in packaged poultry appear to be widespread however, with a wave of comments from individuals who've encountered similar surprises across various stores.

One commenter recounted a comparable experience from Coles, asserting: "It's not just Aldi. I had to partially defeather my whole chicken from Coles a few weeks back."

Within the group, a prevailing sentiment surfaced suggesting feathers remaining on chicken products are not exclusive to a particular retailer. Another user chimed in, attempting to downplay the concern, saying: "It happens everywhere."

"It is just super disgusting as feathers are very dirty," the original poster continued, "And [they have] now been in contact with the marinade."

'Look at the bigger picture'

However, not everyone shared the in the revulsion. Some users dismissed the issue as trivial, asserting that it's just a feather and suggesting the simple solution of plucking them out.

"Can't believe the people carrying on how gross it is. It's a feather," one person remarked. "Happy to eat processed food and chicken nuggets, but gee give me a feather and I just can't deal."

"Just pull them out before you cook them!" Someone else agreed: "It's not hard."

Nevertheless, a counterargument surfaced, with several group members suggesting that customers shouldn't bear the responsibility of such tasks.

"All the people saying 'just pull them out, it's not hard', look at the bigger picture," one person argued. "She shouldn't have to pull them out because they shouldn't be there if the job was done properly in the first place!"

"I'd rather my chicken plucked," someone else agreed, "isn't that what we pay for?"

Yahoo Lifestyle understands Aldi encourages any customer to feedback to Aldi directly via the help centre, so they can investigate the matter. Customers can return any product they are not satisfied with for a full refund or replacement.

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