Have you ever taken a bite of something and it tasted completely different from what it's supposed to taste like? Maybe you were expecting a delicious cupcake, but instead, it tasted like car oil. Or perhaps you were looking forward to some popcorn, but it tasted like dirt rather than butter.

You're not alone. In fact, there's a whole community of mums in a Facebook group who have experienced the same thing.

Hmm.. That doesn't taste right... Source: Facebook/AldiMums​

A potential cause of an alarm was raised by Aussie shopper Deanna in a Facebook group called 'Aldi mums'. Unfortunately, the chocolate mix she bought tasted like car oil and the popcorn tasted like dirt, she claimed.

'Please tell me I'm not the only one or I'm going to sound crazy!' she wrote.

'I've bought the cupcake mixes, made them up, and when licking the spoon I can taste a really strong car oil taste and it smells like a mechanic. It's happened more than once.'

Yuck! Source: Facebook/AldiMums​

She added, 'The other day I opened a big bag of popcorn (little multiple packs) and a few packs tasted like dirt, but others didn't.'

She also mentioned that the packets of yoghurt coated sultanas have an odd flavour that tasted 'ABSOLUTELY GROSS'.

Deanna's post quickly garnered a lot of attention, with many other mums coming forward to say they've experienced the same thing.

'A few times I've brought bread and it smelt so strongly like nail polish remover.' one woman shared.

'The popcorn!!! I tasted the dirt taste the other night and everyone in the house thought I was insane.' another wrote.

A third added: 'I had the yoghurt covered sultanas for the first time last week and they were disgusting!!! I literally spit them out, they were THAT bad.'

But oh, I see you asking yourself, how do these people know the taste of car oil and dirt?

Actually, it's called 'Taste- Odour Congruence' and it occurs when the flavour of a food is influenced by its smell.

So, if something smells like car oil, chances are it's going to taste like it too.

What could be going on? What's causing this strange phenomenon?

Everyone knows for a fact that COVID-19 does mess with our taste buds, too. The slight similarity to a common symptom of COVID made a man ask if Deanna had tested positive for COVID.

'Have you had COVID? My sense of taste after 10 weeks still isn't right. I can taste and smell a metallic kind of flavour,' he said.

After the speculation, Deanna replied to say she had not had any Covid symptoms and that she was in good health.

'It's not from Covid ‘cause I've gotten other people to taste them and I'm not pregnant,' she said.

Another woman attempted to mitigate the potential consequences for Aldi by attributing the fault to the product's brand rather than to Aldi.

'This has nothing to do with Aldi. It's the way the product is processed and packed. Contact the company that makes the product directly,' she claimed.

So what's the verdict? We can't really say what ultimately caused the weird taste of the products at this point in time as there isn't any study that scientifically explains what actually happened.

But one thing is for sure, you're not crazy if you've ever experienced this. It turns out: other people have too.

And just one thing you have to know if ever you'll experience such (which of course something we'd rather you not), you have the ultimate right to ask for a refund from Aldi! They actually encouraged customers with the same experience to return the products in store for a full refund!

You may also watch these tips on how to make your food safe and clean!

Video Credit: Your ONLINE Teacher PH​

 

[Ricci]

I think that we have a mental image, or remembered taste for the food that we eat and sometimes if things aren't quite how we expect them to be they are perceived to taste "weird"

 

[LH2022]

I had a weird time years back. My home smelled of cigarette smoke. Disgisting. Nobody else could smell it but me. It was only me there, never ever smoked, nobody ever smoked anywhere near. I tried to figure every possibility of where it was coming from...another apartment, the hallway outside the apartment, outside somewhere. Never found out. Maybe my nose was playing tricks on me, I don't know, but it lasted many months. Then it stopped. Weird. Maybe the people smelling odd things in food have what I had...