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.

See Also:

The day UFOs hovered over Fiorentina’s Stadio Artemio Franchi

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.”

Read more: BBC