Tesco has bizarrely threatened two foreign exchange students with legal action after they were caught on CCTV squeezing a muffin, according to reports.
The UK’s largest supermarket chain accused two 17-year-old Italian girls with “contaminating food” after they squeezed muffins from the bakery counter at a Tesco Metro store in Exeter to test their freshness.
A spokeswoman for Tesco said the store’s CCTV footage showed the students “damaging” two muffins before buying a third.
But the pair said they were then stopped by security staff, marched back inside and taken to a room where they were questioned and eventually given a document advising them to seek legal advice as they could be prosecuted and fined.
Staff then contacted the girls’ carers and invited them to come to the store to see the CCTV footage.
Colin Gott, who was a host for the foreign exchange students, said Tesco’s heavy-handed response had left the pair “shocked and distressed”.
“It’s ludicrous and an absolute farce, especially at a time when we are trying to promote Exeter and encourage visitors,” he said.
“The worry is the view that these two young people and their friends take back home with them. In Italy they have a much more hands-on approach to food shopping but it doesn’t mean they are contaminating everything.
“If just a little common sense had been used this all could have been avoided.”
In June the same Tesco store banned a 31-year-old customer from every branch in the country for taking a bite from a bread roll before paying for it.
