Ocado has stopped selling foie gras after the animal rights group PETA wrote to the online grocer to complain.

The offending 180g jar of duck foie gras was one of the 300 products from Carrefour's Reflets de France range to come on to the site in July. 

PETA wrote to Ocado to persuade it to remove the foie gras from sale, having been contacted by members of the public who were surprised and upset to see it on the site. 

"We're happy to say that convincing Ocado to drop this 'torture in a tin' wasn't difficult. Like many companies, they were simply unaware of the immense cruelty that is inflicted on ducks and geese in the production of foie gras," said a PETA spokeswoman. 

Ocado declined to comment on its decision. 

No major supermarket in the UK sells foie gras - the last of the big four to stop selling it was Sainsbury's in 2006. More recently, Selfridges dropped foie gras in November 2009 following a PETA campaign. 

The activist group has now turned its attention to Fortnum & Mason, which still sells foie gras. 

"We are hopeful that Fortnum & Mason will soon bow to public pressure. It is shameful that a store that trades on its British heritage is selling a product that is too cruel to produce in the UK," said the spokeswoman.