Three legged Aldi roast chicken stumps Aussie shoppers: 'I could never eat that'

In a bizarre shopping trolley find, an Aussie mum has discovered what social media has described as a "Chernobyl chicken" among her groceries from Aldi – a whole chicken with three legs. The revelation sparked a flurry of reactions online, with opinions ranging from fascination to downright horror.

The unsuspecting shopper took to social media to share her unusual buy, posting both a pre- and post-roasting photo of the three-legged bird. Accompanied by a caption that simply read, "I'm just going to pop this here," the image quickly garnered attention and ignited a lively discussion in the comments section.

While some people expressed curiosity and amusement at the sight of the mutated chicken, others were less enthused.

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"It's probably fine, but I could never eat that, knowing it had three legs," remarked one commenter, echoing the sentiments of many who found the concept unsettling.

"Yeah I'm a hard pass on ingesting the genetic mutation thanks," another person commented, with a third adding: "This is why I'm vegetarian! Yuck!"

Mutation or butchering blunder?

However, not everyone was convinced the chicken indeed possessed a third leg. Speculation ran rampant, with theories ranging from the possibility of a torn tail-end to a butchering technique.

"I don't think it's three legs. I believe it's the bum of the chook torn away sideways," suggested one commenter, while another proposed, "It's not a third leg, it's the parsons nose, aka the bum."

"It appears that way because when it was butterflied open for faster cooking, they cut to one side of the bum and not split down the middle," one user explained.

Despite the debate surrounding its origin, some adventurous souls expressed enthusiasm at the prospect of enjoying an extra drumstick.

"Not a bad idea if you had three family members who want a drumstick. But it does look scary," quipped one commenter, "I love the legs, so I'd be stoked," agreed another.

Is it safe to eat?

While Aldi's three-legged roast chicken sparked interest on social media, food safety expert Edward McCartney from Food Safety Plus clarified that the additional appendage is not a genetic anomaly but likely a consequence of rough handling during processing.

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"The photo appears to show the tail of the bird has been torn from its correct anatomical position. This a quality issue and would not impact the safety of the poultry meat," McCartney told Yahoo Lifestyle.

Despite the debate surrounding the chicken's apparent superfluous limb, the safety of the poultry meat remains unaffected.

As one social media user succinctly put it: "Aldi...Good... Different..."

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