Beware! Highly toxic find inside Woolworths product triggers urgent investigation
- Replies 5
The last thing you need when going food shopping is to buy something that could end up harming your health.
Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to one Woolworths shopper who stumbled across a highly toxic find hidden in a bag of baby spinach!
Shoppers in Australia were left alarmed this week when a concerned customer found a highly toxic leaf hidden in a packet of spinach bought from Woolworths supermarket.
The shocking discovery was shared on the popular social media forum Reddit by one shopper, who said they were almost finished with their meal before they found the barbed leaf on their plate.
What’s more alarming is they said they didn’t know if they already consumed similar leaves.
‘Can anyone identify this barbed leaf I found from Woolworths spinach baby leaf pack?’ They captioned before attaching a photo of the unexpected find.
‘Hoping I’m still alive tomorrow,’ they added.
One concerned social media user said that the leaf is called Solanum Prinophyllum, a plant that is native to Australia and found on the east coast. This type of plant is just one of the many Solanum varieties; among them, the Solanum Virginianum (AKA yellow fruit nightshade), Solanum Brownii (AKA violet nightshade), and Solanum Cinereum (AKA narrawa burr) varieties are found across the country.
The person that replied to the original poster added that while certain species of the plant aren’t ‘problematic’, some varieties can be poisonous to humans.
While the exact species of the leaf in this instance remains unknown, it serves as an important reminder of the need for stringent safety measures across the food industry to prevent the sale of plant life that may be unsafe for human consumption.
Late last year, major supermarkets recalled spinach from their shelves due to contamination concerns. Reports estimated around 100 Aussies across the country were affected by the tainted spinach. You can read more on that here.
Many agreed that the leaf looks like it came from a plant in the Solanum family.
‘My husband is a horticulturist. He says it’s a kind of nightshade and you should 100% report it as it’s poisonous and some forms are deadly,’ someone wrote.
Another commented: ‘Definitely a Solanum variation. In Australia, there are 185 species, many of which are native and endemic. It’ll be hard to objectively identify with leaf characteristics having so much variety throughout a single plant and this specific photograph is showing a young, underdeveloped leaf.’
Others advised the original poster to report their find to Woolies so the company can issue a recall.
‘Other batches could be contaminated,’ one added.
‘That looks like a lawsuit leaf,’ joked one.
A spokesperson for Woolworths told reporters that they are looking into the incident.
‘We take food quality and safety very seriously and are disappointed to see this customer’s report,’ they said.
The spokesperson explained that if customers are concerned with the quality of their products, they are encouraged to contact their local store for a replacement and refund.
It is believed that Woolworths’ growers have weed management programs in place on their farms to manage the presence of weeds during the growing and harvesting of produce. Moreover, it is reported that the product packing process has several foreign object control and removal systems regarding weeds, including pre-harvest inspections, post-harvest inspections, product grading and sorting.
Don’t worry, the original poster in the thread said they’re still alive. They really dodged a bullet, though! So, members, stay safe out there and make sure to inspect your buys before you eat them – you never know what could be hiding in your greens!
Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to one Woolworths shopper who stumbled across a highly toxic find hidden in a bag of baby spinach!
Shoppers in Australia were left alarmed this week when a concerned customer found a highly toxic leaf hidden in a packet of spinach bought from Woolworths supermarket.
The shocking discovery was shared on the popular social media forum Reddit by one shopper, who said they were almost finished with their meal before they found the barbed leaf on their plate.
What’s more alarming is they said they didn’t know if they already consumed similar leaves.
The shopper said they found a ‘highly toxic leaf’ in a bag of spinach. Credit: Yaroslav Shuraev/Pexels
‘Can anyone identify this barbed leaf I found from Woolworths spinach baby leaf pack?’ They captioned before attaching a photo of the unexpected find.
‘Hoping I’m still alive tomorrow,’ they added.
One concerned social media user said that the leaf is called Solanum Prinophyllum, a plant that is native to Australia and found on the east coast. This type of plant is just one of the many Solanum varieties; among them, the Solanum Virginianum (AKA yellow fruit nightshade), Solanum Brownii (AKA violet nightshade), and Solanum Cinereum (AKA narrawa burr) varieties are found across the country.
The person that replied to the original poster added that while certain species of the plant aren’t ‘problematic’, some varieties can be poisonous to humans.
While the exact species of the leaf in this instance remains unknown, it serves as an important reminder of the need for stringent safety measures across the food industry to prevent the sale of plant life that may be unsafe for human consumption.
The photo of the leaf from the original social media forum post. Credit: Reddit
Late last year, major supermarkets recalled spinach from their shelves due to contamination concerns. Reports estimated around 100 Aussies across the country were affected by the tainted spinach. You can read more on that here.
Many agreed that the leaf looks like it came from a plant in the Solanum family.
‘My husband is a horticulturist. He says it’s a kind of nightshade and you should 100% report it as it’s poisonous and some forms are deadly,’ someone wrote.
Another commented: ‘Definitely a Solanum variation. In Australia, there are 185 species, many of which are native and endemic. It’ll be hard to objectively identify with leaf characteristics having so much variety throughout a single plant and this specific photograph is showing a young, underdeveloped leaf.’
Others advised the original poster to report their find to Woolies so the company can issue a recall.
‘Other batches could be contaminated,’ one added.
‘That looks like a lawsuit leaf,’ joked one.
A spokesperson for Woolworths told reporters that they are looking into the incident.
‘We take food quality and safety very seriously and are disappointed to see this customer’s report,’ they said.
The spokesperson explained that if customers are concerned with the quality of their products, they are encouraged to contact their local store for a replacement and refund.
It is believed that Woolworths’ growers have weed management programs in place on their farms to manage the presence of weeds during the growing and harvesting of produce. Moreover, it is reported that the product packing process has several foreign object control and removal systems regarding weeds, including pre-harvest inspections, post-harvest inspections, product grading and sorting.
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I was just wondering if people have noticed a change in the Woolworths spinach packs? I found that the leaves are very wet inside the pack and the ones that have been delivered are closer to their use by date. I find half the leaves to be soft and slimy and have thrown out the last two packs purchased. I no longer by Woolworths spinach.
