A fast food chain is defending itself from allegations that it served a Dundee diner a three-inch knife blade in her sandwich.
Gillian Sim claims to have bitten down upon the item after purchasing a roll from the Subway store in the Overgate Centre.
The legal professional was working at the Dundee Procurator Fiscal’s office alongside partner Paul Miele when she popped into the city centre branch for lunch on August 16, 2011.
Perth Sheriff Court was told that Ms Sim got more than she bargained for when she ordered her tuna mayonnaise, cheese, gherkin, cucumber and lettuce submarine roll.
“I bit down on something hard and held it between my teeth,” she said.
“I put my sandwich down and took what I found was a blade out of my mouth.”
Fortunately Ms Sim did not sustain any injury. She contacted Environmental Health officers who took a brief statement and alerted the Subway store.
Mr Miele meanwhile told the court of their shock at the find.
“I remember Gillian was chewing a bit of her sandwich when I heard her say ‘eugh’,” he said.
“I laughed and asked her whether she’d found a hair. Instead she took some food from her mouth, together with a blade that had been in the sandwich.”
The Overgate Subway branch is one of around 59 franchises operated by Edinburgh-based SS North Ltd.
It is accused of selling a customer a roll that had “a craft blade or similar item within its contents” on August 16, 2011 a charge it denies.
Area manager Nicholas Meldrum also gave evidence yesterday and told the court the branch had been operated by an experienced and reliable group of staff at the time of the alleged incident.
Six members were on duty on August 16, 2011, and while three had since left he said he would have been more than happy to rehire each of them.
He said great efforts were made to preserve hygiene and safety and claimed there was no need for any member of staff to use a Stanley-type blade on the premises.
The court was shown video footage of Subway’s sandwich-making process, from the arrival of the components to preparation and then completion.
Mr Meldrum said that in his opinion it was not possible for the blade to have entered the sandwich in the branch.
And he added that he visited each and every one of the 11 stores in his area “two to three times each week” to ensure that correct procedures were being followed.
The trial before Sheriff McFarlane continues on September 3.