A UoM student found actual ants in her smoothie

A University of Manchester student found over a dozen dead ants in her smoothie yesterday.

The surprise protein came in a smoothie ordered from Fuse cafe, a brunch spot in Withington specialising in fresh, healthy food. Ordered via Deliveroo, the UoM student found it had ants in it once it arrived.

In a post in FSG, the student said: "Please don't go to fuse in Withington unless you want a bit of extra protein in the form of a mouthful of ants in the bottom of your smoothie xo."

Speaking to The Manchester Tab, she said: "I noticed from what you can see in the first picture that there was something in the drink. I thought it was just like an apple seed or something."

She added: "But just in case i got a spoon to spoon it out and then realised that there were a shit tonne of ants. Luckily I realised and didn't drink it.

"As far as I know Deliveroo are investigating, but no refund yet."

Another student posted a response in FSG, stating that she was an employee at Fuse and defending the cafe. She expressed that she didn't know how it happened, but asserted that the cafe was a clean and lovely place.

She said: "Keep seeing this image from Fuse cafe circulating. I work there Sundays and have never seen it looking unclean. It's an independent business and the woman who owns it works really hard six days a week. I don't know how this happened but please don't let it taint your opinion of the cafe. It's a lovely place."

Fuse Cafe told The Manchester tab: "At Fuse, we pride ourselves on our high standards of food hygiene and health and safety. We undergo routine unannounced inspections from the Food Standards Agency and hold a five Star Food Hygiene Certificate.

"We are a family owned cafe that has had the honour of engaging with and being at the heart of the local Withington community for the last seven years."

They added: "The image posted on social media has shocked us greatly. We regret that no attempt was ever made to contact ourselves or Deliveroo, who processed the delivery of the order, prior to this being posted online.

Ensuring only the best quality food and beverages are served to our valued clientele is of the upmost importance to us and we look forward to continuing to serve the local community for many years to come."

Deliveroo said: "We are very sorry about this customer's experience and the contents of her smoothie. We are currently investigating this matter with Fuse, a restaurant partner who've never experienced an incident like this before and have a 5* food safety rating – the highest you can get.

"We have refunded the customer already for her order, and will be offering her a free meal on us too, to make up for the bad experience."