Overview
- Shoppers across the UK reported foul‑smelling, discoloured or mouldy turkeys from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Lidl despite in‑date labels, sharing photos on social media.
- Sainsbury’s apologised and said it would contact affected customers, Asda and Morrisons outlined steps to support complainants, and Tesco was approached for comment without a public statement in these reports.
- Customers also described wider festive failures including missing items, cancelled deliveries and a Morrisons click‑and‑collect mix‑up that left some without a turkey.
- An industry butcher suggested early processing and punctured CO2‑flushed packaging can cause rapid spoilage even when products are in date, though the specific causes in these cases remain unconfirmed.
- No product recall or regulatory action has been reported, with one separate allegation highlighting out‑of‑date turkeys sold at a Tesco Ealing Broadway store earlier in December.