Maggots discovered in popular candy

Valrico, Florida - Kashana Kollie loves Nestle Goobers, so when she spotted a three for $3 sale at Walgreens, she took advantage.

There was nothing unusual about the first box of Goobers her family dug into during their movie night over the weekend, but she was in for a surprise when she opened up the second box.

"What I saw was something flew out of the box, something with wings flew out of the box... I have no idea what kind of bug it was," she said.

At a closer look, what used to be chocolate covered peanuts had degraded into a dirt-like material, and then she saw something move... maggots.

"I think it's disgusting, just real disgusting," she said. She showed us the box, which she had sealed up in two plastic bags in case an inspector dropped by her home.

It was on her back porch and she wore latex gloves as she opened the bag with her proof.

"I don't want this in my house, I don't want to touch it with my bare hands," she explained.

Sure enough, a small fly was inside and a few maggots too.

"Oh, oh... that's so nasty," she said, pointing to the bugs.

Kollie called Nestle and was told the box was four months expired. She pointed out the code on the box she read to customer service.

Even if she had checked for an expiration date at the store, she said she wouldn't know what to look for.

It reads: 8070574823 9A

While she says Walgreens should have checked the dates, she's calling on Nestle to make its manufacturing codes more customer-friendly.

"Please put a real expiration date on the box for the consumers, please," she pleaded to Nestle.

The Walgreens store in Riverview where she bought the candy removed the product from its shelves, according to Walgreens spokeswoman Tiffani Washington.

In a statement emailed to 10 Connects, Washington said:

"We have procedures in place to routinely check the expiration dates on perishable items. Though we found no out-of-date products and we have not received any other complaints, as a precaution we have removed all of this product from our shelves and the store will undergo a thorough inspection for any signs of insects.

"Again, though all the product was determine to be in date, it is often difficult to interpret the expiration codes for various candy manufacturers. Retailers have been pushing for open coding for years."

10 Connects contacted Nestle about Goober problem. This is not the first time a viewer has contacted us after discovering maggots in their box of Nestle Goobers. In February, a woman purchased a contaminated box from a Dollar General store.

Nestle told us there are no immediate plans to change the way it codes its products and that it relies on stores to ensure the product does not remain on the shelf after it expires.

Goobers have a 10-month shelf life, according to Nestle.

The 9A in the code from Kollie's box of Goobers means it was supposed to be removed from the shelf in January 2009. The 9=2009 and the A=January. (ex: February=B, March=C, etc.)

Nestle said if customers have questions about the code, it can call the customer service line at: (800) 258 6728.

Click here for instructions on how to read Nestle's manufacturing code. (PDF)

Kollie says Nestle told her to throw out the maggot-infested candy, and that the company is sending her coupons to buy more.