Aldi’s reputation could be in tatties after a customer opened a packet of crisps bought in store and found nothing but a whole potato inside.

But at least the budget supermarket chain proved it uses natural ingredients when Richard Bootman discovered the unpeeled spud in some Snackrite steak and onion crisps on Monday morning.

“I picked it up and it was airtight so I didn’t question it,” the 25-year-old, from Mildenhall, Suffolk, told BT.com.

“At first I thought it was a ball of soggy crisps. When I realised what it was everyone in the office laughed – we couldn’t believe it.”

The architectural designer was at his office desk when he made the unusual discovery in his mid-morning snack, bought from the Aldi store in Brandon, Suffolk.

The Snackrite crisp packet promises 100% British potatoes – and even features a photo of them on the packet – but despite this, the potatoes are obviously meant to be made into crisps before they are sold.

“It is likely I will buy them again, brand doesn’t bother me with crisps,” Richard added.

“But I will feel up the pack before I open them.”

Opened my #Snackrite crisps from @AldiUK, nothing but a potato inside pic.twitter.com/MYNtAJGw3h — Richard Bootman (@Richard_Bootman) March 9, 2015

Richard tweeted a photo of the potato to Aldi and received an apology and the offer of a refund via Twitter.

An Aldi spokesman confirmed: “Aldi is aware of this incident and is happy to offer the customer a full refund.”

Stories of unusual things found in food are never far from the headlines. Nick Bain, a Tesco customer from Clacton, Essex, recently found a live mouse in a home shop delivery, which apparently hid in his house for two days before the supermarket chain sent round pest controllers.

A spokesman apologised to Mr Bain and said Tesco had refunded and replaced his delivery as well as visited with flowers. He added that a visit to the store by pest control found no evidence of further problems.

While finding a potato was a bit of an amusing surprise for Aldi customer Richard, other people have found what could be considered worse things in their food.

From maggots and mice to deadly spiders, here are some of the most disgusting things people have found in their food.

Photo credits: Richard Bootman

Have you found anything unusual in your food? Let us know in the Comments below.