A mum’s packed lunch was almost a lot more lively than she planned.

Louise Flint was making her family’s ‘pack-ups’ on Sunday when a large insect appeared in her food.

And to her horror it was not dead.

The two-inch long cricket was hidden in a bag of baby leaf salad that Louise, 28, had bought from Aldi at Waterloo on Saturday.

Louise, a mature criminology student at the University of Huddersfield , said: “I was just making all the pack-ups for Monday for my husband and daughter.

“I was putting together my egg mayo wrap and it just appeared.

“I thought it was dead and then it came alive.

The cricket Louise Flint founds in her Aldi baby leaf salad
The cricket Louise Flint founds in her Aldi baby leaf salad

“I was absolutely petrified.”

Louise rang Aldi’s customer service centre and was told to return the salad and the cricket to the store.

“It says washed and ready to eat,” she said. “That was my wrap I was taking into uni.

“I could have actually eaten it, that’s what I’m bothered about.”

Louise Flint of Lepton says she found a live cricket in her Aldi baby leaf salad
Louise Flint of Lepton says she found a live cricket in her Aldi baby leaf salad

A spokesperson for Aldi, said: “The safety of our shoppers is our number one priority. As soon as we were made aware of this, we advised Louise Flint to return the product to store.

“We will investigate fully once the product is returned.”

Can you eat crickets?

Crickets are related to grasshoppers and are not harmful to humans.

Although they have wings they cannot fly but are known to jump.

They are famous for their tuneful chirping but only male crickets produce song.

It is said the temperature can be worked out by the number of chirps. The hotter it is the more they chirp.

The cricket Louise Flint founds in her Aldi baby leaf salad
The cricket Louise Flint founds in her Aldi baby leaf salad

Crickets are a popular snack in many parts of the world, including Thailand and Mexico.

They are said to have twice the protein of raw meat and fish and are rich in unsaturated fat and important vitamins and minerals.

In Thailand when pesticides failed to control locusts, the government urged locals to eat them and distributed recipes.

poll loading

Would you eat insects?