It's Just A Pear; Get Over It

Demons lurk in the strangest places - like NZ South Island canned fruits:

Southland woman Wendy McMahon reckons she will never look at canned pears the same way.

The latest can she opened contained a demonic face carved into one of its contents.

However, Mrs McMahon said the shock of the find is nothing compared with the trial she has had trying to get answers out of the pears' supplier.

She bought the Budget brand can of pears from Invercargill Pak'N Save a fortnight ago and feeling "a bit peckish", she opened it, late on May 1.

She said it was when she returned to the can for a second helping that she scooped the freakish piece of fruit out.

"I thought `oh my God, is that a face'... it really kind of shocked me."

Inspecting the can, she found an 0800 number and called it.

...She took photos of the pear, posted them to websites, including TV3 and Facebook and listed it on Trade Me before going to bed.

Last Monday, her call was returned by a woman from Safeway Traders Ltd in Auckland.

...On Friday, the woman phoned again, read her a letter that conceded that during production the pear halves were checked by people at the Chinese plant as a quality control measure and offered her a $30 voucher, Mrs McMahon said. "I said that wasn't good enough, then she turned on me and got nasty again – she said `you're just after money aren't you?' – I asked her to send the pear back."

Last night she was still waiting, but said rather than the satanic slice of fruit, it is her treatment by the company she takes exception to.