TL:DR: Please check your broccoli carefully before purchasing. Please let the staff know of there are tiny mites.
A few weeks ago DH (foodie) came home shopping and immediately started preparing dinner. He started chopping the broccoli, and there before him was various sizes of mites and tiny caterpillar things. We checked the other broccoli we bought, and was the same. The broccoli otherwise looked normal.
Returned to Lidls and complained, assuming it was a one off. They gave us a refund.
Ever since we check for mites before buying and purchased mite-free broccoli 2 or 3 times. They are very tiny, about the size of a pin head, brown with visible legs. Until today...more mites (not just a few either)...I told the staff but the other broccoli are still there. I feel bad for anyone buying them and not realising but I can only complain so many times and that is just 2 stores. So here I am trying to spread a word of warning.
I'm not sure if it's exclusive to Lidls so worth checking wherever you buy your broccoli from. I'm no ecologist so I don't know what these mite things are but there was enough and variety of them to make us go 🤢