A mom was astonished to find half a mealworm in her son's Cow & Gate chicken meal. The mother, Vanessa Lynch, discovered the worm right after she heated the baby food.

In an exclusive interview with Coventry Telegraph, Lynch describes, "It had a little head and legs and it was half a worm - some baby's got the other half. It was half a centimeter, brown with darker brown circles around its body." Lynch said she felt disgusted and horrified once she discovered the worm in her son's meal.

Lynch purchased the chicken meal from a newsagent near her Foleshill home. At first glance, the baby food seemed to look alright. It was only after she took it out of the microwave that she discovered the bug.

"I stirred it to make sure it was cool and once I lifted the spoon up to feed my son, I noticed a strange, half worm with a head and legs sticking up on the spoon."

A mealworm, according to Enchantedlearning.com, is not actually a worm but is actually the larval stage of the darkling beetle. They are usually bred in large numbers in order to be fed to other pet animals, such as birds, reptiles, rodents, etc. This is because they are high in protein, which is a crucial nutrient for growing animals. Surprisingly, they can also be eaten by humans as long as they are baked or fried properly.

After this incident, Lynch has decided to switch to another brand and even contemplated on making her own baby food. She adds, "It's just poor quality control on vegetables they're using. They obviously haven't washed them properly. I'm thinking if there's half a worm in one jar, how many other worms got through?"

The manufacturer, Cow & Gate, released a statement saying that they would carry out their own investigation, however, they believe that this is an isolated incident.