Tesco adults-only sausage rule surprises Fulbourn shoppers

The French saucisson was listed as an over-18s item at the checkout

Sausage fans were taken by surprise after Tesco deemed one of its pork products only suitable for adults over the age of 18 to purchase.

The supermarket giant accidentally listed a "saucisson sec" as "secateurs", which, as a bladed item, meant purchasers must prove their age.

Fufu Fang, 30, said he was "surprised to be stopped at the self-service till" at a Tesco near Cambridge as he attempted to buy his sausage.

Tesco said it was "a bit of a mix-up".

The French-brand saucisson sec is a dry-cured pork product, which Mr Fang attempted to purchase from the Fulbourn branch of Tesco.

"I was very surprised when I was asked if I was old enough to buy the sausage," he said.

Proof of age was needed before the sausage could be passed through the self-service checkout

The message on the screen stated he was buying "saucisson secateurs", and the entry was marked "Age approval required, minimum age 18".

Secateurs are sharp pruning clippers used by gardeners.

"I did a double-take and thought, 'I hope I've bought the right kind of sausage'," Mr Fang said.

"It was very odd, and the shop assistant had to call the manager over - he thought it was a joke and I thought it was a prank.

"I guess they thought the sausage was a bladed object so they needed to check my age."

Secateurs are useful for pruning shrubbery - sausages are not

Mr Fang posted photographs of the potentially offensive sausage in a Cambridge Facebook group, eliciting both amusement and comments about how difficult it would be to prune plants with a sausage.

Another shopper wrote a review of the product on Tesco's own website, saying: "Not secateurs."

The customer said it was "a shame" they had to produce age-appropriate ID in order to buy the product.

They added: "Please note Tesco, these are not secateurs.

"Do not attempt to cut your roses with this product, you will fail."

Mr Fang said the experience had not put him off buying the sausage as he had never had an issue at the checkout before, adding: "And they are very tasty"

Tesco said it was working to resolve the issue

A Tesco spokeswoman said: "It looks like there's been a bit of a mix-up here.

"We're working to resolve this so that customers of all ages can purchase this delicious saucisson."