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A Western Sydney council says it is investigating after a woman found live maggots crawling on her steak while dining at a restaurant.
The woman, from the Blue Mountains, visited Lone Star Rib House Penrith on Sunday, November 10, for a "nice meal" out with her husband and son.
"Within seconds of it landing on the table, I could see something was wrong," she told ABC News.
"I sort of zoomed in, looking at the piece of steak and thought, 'That's really odd, there are things moving'."
The Blue Mountains woman said she was "grossed out" after going to the restaurant for a family meal. (ABC News: Patrick Thomas)
Her husband reasoned that it could have been seasoning, but upon closer inspection, realised what he was looking it.
The woman, who does not want to be identified, showed her plate to a staff member who pointed out the restaurant's high star food and health safety rating.
She said she was offered a replacement meal but turned it down because she was "grossed out".
"I just said, 'No, I can't eat here ... I just want to leave'," she said.
The woman said she spotted the maggots on her steak almost immediately. (ABC News: Patrick Thomas)
After her plate was taken back to the kitchen, she said she was told staff didn't "know how the maggots came about on the steak".
"He also said that the maggots didn't come from the steak, they were actually on the salad," she recalled.
"[The maggots] were having the time of their life on that piece of steak, and there was not one maggot on the salad," she said.
"But either way, there should not have been maggots on the plate at all.
"The way I see it there are at least two, maybe three people in that restaurant handling the piece of steak ... how did not one of those people notice the steak was moving?"
Lone Star Rib House said it would not comment on the video or "personal views on the venue's hygiene standards".
A spokesperson confirmed an independent environmental health officer conducted an inspection "promptly the morning after the customer's visit" in direct response to the complaint.
"Following a thorough assessment, the inspection revealed no areas of concern," they said.
Notes from the local council, which the ABC has seen, observed at the time of inspection that there were no flies on the premises and "no evidence relating to complaint".
It reported the meat was stored in sealed bagging, salad in a sealed box, and no "possibility of contamination during assembly".
Notes from the inspection reported "no evidence relating to maggots/flies". (Supplied)
A Penrith City Council spokesperson later said an investigation was currently underway into the "food safety incident".
"Council's inspection is incorporating all aspects — from food received by the supplier, food storage at the business and food preparation," they said.
"Council had previously completed a routine and unannounced inspection at the business on 5 November, which did not identify any concerns."
The spokesperson said the council was still working with the food proprietor and was consulting with the NSW Food Authority.
Lone Star Rib House in Penrith confirmed an inspection was independently conducted after the woman's experience. (ABC News: Patrick Thomas)
The woman said all she wanted was an apology for what she experienced, which had left her "uncomfortable and fearful".
"We were out for a family meal, we were hungry, something really disgusting and inappropriate had happened and no-one owned up to that."
She said she would "never, ever eat there again" and that she "can't eat steak now".
"I don't think I can eat beef for a while, it's turned me off. Even cooking at home I feel like I'm cooking the meat a little bit more than I normally would just to make sure I'm killing anything that is potentially in it."