Nine years in, three Yogis to give

And the first one for 2019 is going to Jaswinder Paul, a Hindu man who ate beef labelled as lamb, but is smarter than the average Hindu as he really knows his way around the concept of principle - he wants a supermarket giant to pay for a trip to India so he can go home to cleanse. Paul bought a package labelled as lamb roast from Countdown Blenheim at the end of September, then cooked and ate the contents before discovering the meat was beef. Cows are viewed as sacred in Hinduism, and eating the meat broke his religious vow. Paul, who moved from India to Blenheim two decades ago, wanted Countdown to cover the costs of his "purification". "According to my religion, I have to go back to my country and do sacred things for four to six weeks, and be purified by priests, so I can continue on my religious path. It's a long process," he said, adding that he would have to shut his shop, Headmaster Barbers, to travel abroad, costing him income. He would also have to fork out for return flights to New Delhi, in India, alongside accommodation and food. A Countdown spokeswoman said Paul approached the organisation in September, after the ordeal. "Unfortunately, in September last year, an error with our in-store labelling resulted in a pack of our beef mince being sold with both beef and lamb labels, which was incorrect and obviously very confusing," she said. "We're deeply sorry that this happened. We very much appreciate and respect Mr Paul's beliefs and certainly there was no intent to incorrectly label the product." Countdown replaced the product and also offered Paul a gift voucher "as a goodwill gesture", which he declined, the spokeswoman said. Paul said staff told him the mislabelling was a mistake and offered him a $200 gift voucher. He refused, asking them to instead pay for his purification. And Countdown better pay up - they're already in heap big trouble.