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Sittingbourne mum Natalie Freeman bought out-of-date orange squash at Asda

A mum has been left disgusted after buying orange squash for her children from a supermarket only to find it expired more than a year ago.

Natalie Freeman visited the Asda store in Mill Way, Sittingbourne, to do her weekly shop.

The 34-year-old assumed her usual purchase of the 50% Florida orange high juice would be fine as the shelves were fully stocked with the drink.

Natalie Freeman with the out-of-date squash
Natalie Freeman with the out-of-date squash

"I initially thought it looked darker than normal but every other bottle was the same colour and I figured they had re-branded or changed the recipe," said Ms Freeman, of Jacinth Drive, The Meads.

"When I took it home my children had a couple of glasses and told me that it had tasted different and greasy - that's when my partner Andrew noticed it expired in November 2014."

Ms Freeman, who works as a shop assistant for Sainsbury's, phoned Asda to complain and sent in pictures of the bottle but said the acting manager was rude and didn't take her seriously.

"My children had a couple of glasses and told me that it had tasted different and greasy..." - Natalie Freeman

"I just wanted to let them know so they could clear the shelves and not sell any more of them but he informed us the brand had all been sold through," she said.

"All I wanted was an apology and for them to be more careful with their stock but instead was made to feel like it was my fault," she said.

Ms Freeman says she can no longer trust the branch of Asda after unearthing the expired product, and questioned the store's checking procedures.

"I can understand if it's a week out or a month but more than a year is ridiculous and disgusting," she said.

"I am trusting them when I buy their stuff, but I just can't anymore.

"They should check the shelves every day to make sure everything is up to date."

Asda apologised and reassured customers that rigorous checks were carried out at all their stores, including the Sittingbourne branch.

The fruit squash expired more than a year ago
The fruit squash expired more than a year ago

A spokesman said: "We take complaints of this nature seriously and we have strict processes in place to avoid such incidents.

"Unfortunately on this occasion it seems we didn't meet our own high standards and have moved quickly to rectify the matter.

"We'd like to reassure customers that our Sittingbourne store has carried out a number of extra checks and this seems to be an isolated incident affecting one product.

"We have apologised to Ms Freeman and have offered a gesture of goodwill for any upset caused."

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