Fresh produce is something many take for granted. After all, knowing it's coming from the shops tells us it'll be safe to eat and (usually) of good quality.

But sometimes, you might find that what you get from the supermarket isn't all you expected. And it's not just dietary concerns like the best-by-date on food that you should be worried about–as a recent incident proves.

The Worrick family, from Michigan, was shopping for organic baby spinach when they jumped in surprise.

According to the family, they opened up the sealed packet–which promised a 'triple washed' product–and were shocked to find something unexpected nestled among the leaves.

As Amber Worrick, who purchased the spinach, later recounted: 'My daughter was screaming, she was like, “Oh my God, it's a frog”, and I was like, “What?”’

Indeed, camouflaged among the leafy green vegetable was a small, live Pacific tree frog–a species native to California.

A Pacific tree frog was found inside a bag of spinach by an American family. Credit: Burke Museum

Amber confirmed the discovery and described the little creature as moving, which led many to wonder: if it had not been for her daughter’s eagle eye, would she have eaten it?

'Just thank God I didn't eat the frog,' she said.

The frog and the spinach were taken back to the shop where the Worrick family had purchased it. The shop relocated the frog to a new home and kindly refunded the family.

Earthbound Farms, the organic spinach brand Amber purchased, released a statement to apologise for the incident.

‘Our organic farming practices help promote biodiversity and healthy ecosystems on and around our farms. We will continue to work tirelessly to provide the freshest, finest quality veggies for consumers,’ it said.

While Amber and her family are happy to put the incident behind them, this brings up the issue of the quality of fruits and vegetables in supermarkets and the standards by which they are processed.

‘I don’t believe that it was washed, or else they would have caught a whole live frog,’ Amber expressed.

Key Takeaways

• A family in the United States discovered a live frog in their sealed bag of organic baby spinach.
  
• Despite the label claiming the spinach was 'triple washed', the frog, native to California, had somehow made it into the package.
  
• The mother returned the spinach to the supermarket and received a refund, while the store's employees relocated the frog.
  
• The parent company of Earthbound Farms Organic Spinach, Taylor Farms, apologised for the incident. Still, the mother remains confused about how it could have happened given the product claim of being 'triple washed'.
  

You can watch Fox 2 Detroit’s coverage of the story here:

​

Have you encountered a similar incident, members? Share your experience in the comments below!

 

[SGH]

How cute was that, well you definitely know your food is fresh.

 

[Gsr]

I once found a dead slug in a packet of supposedly fresh washed salad greens. When I returned it to the shop the shop assistant told me it probably isn’t a slug, probably something that looks like a slug. I suggested she eat it to find out since she apparently couldn’t see it was a slug, but she declined and refunded my money.

 

[elaine41]

Poor frog being locked in a plastic bag probably for days. At least he had water available as the produce had been washed before being bagged.

 

[Suzanne rose]

How cute, my daughter would have been squealing with delight we would have put it in our pond.

Poor frog though , I'm wondering how much truth there is to this, how could a frog live so long in a sealed bag . It would have been at least a day. And the frog didn't croak.
I think someone is telling stories

 

[Veggiepatch]

I was waiting for something a bit more exciting like a rat or a tarantula. I'm bitterly disappointed.

 

[Suzanne rose]

I was waiting for something a bit more exciting like a rat or a tarantula. I'm bitterly disappointed.

me too

 

[mummygoth]

How cute was that, well you definitely know your food is fresh.

and organic;-)

 

[Ankies]

Fresh produce is something many take for granted. After all, knowing it's coming from the shops tells us it'll be safe to eat and (usually) of good quality.

But sometimes, you might find that what you get from the supermarket isn't all you expected. And it's not just dietary concerns like the best-by-date on food that you should be worried about–as a recent incident proves.

The Worrick family, from Michigan, was shopping for organic baby spinach when they jumped in surprise.

According to the family, they opened up the sealed packet–which promised a 'triple washed' product–and were shocked to find something unexpected nestled among the leaves.

As Amber Worrick, who purchased the spinach, later recounted: 'My daughter was screaming, she was like, “Oh my God, it's a frog”, and I was like, “What?”’

Indeed, camouflaged among the leafy green vegetable was a small, live Pacific tree frog–a species native to California.

View attachment 27697

A Pacific tree frog was found inside a bag of spinach by an American family. Credit: Burke Museum

Amber confirmed the discovery and described the little creature as moving, which led many to wonder: if it had not been for her daughter’s eagle eye, would she have eaten it?

'Just thank God I didn't eat the frog,' she said.

The frog and the spinach were taken back to the shop where the Worrick family had purchased it. The shop relocated the frog to a new home and kindly refunded the family.

Earthbound Farms, the organic spinach brand Amber purchased, released a statement to apologise for the incident.

‘Our organic farming practices help promote biodiversity and healthy ecosystems on and around our farms. We will continue to work tirelessly to provide the freshest, finest quality veggies for consumers,’ it said.

While Amber and her family are happy to put the incident behind them, this brings up the issue of the quality of fruits and vegetables in supermarkets and the standards by which they are processed.

‘I don’t believe that it was washed, or else they would have caught a whole live frog,’ Amber expressed.

Key Takeaways

• A family in the United States discovered a live frog in their sealed bag of organic baby spinach.
• Despite the label claiming the spinach was 'triple washed', the frog, native to California, had somehow made it into the package.
• The mother returned the spinach to the supermarket and received a refund, while the store's employees relocated the frog.
• The parent company of Earthbound Farms Organic Spinach, Taylor Farms, apologised for the incident. Still, the mother remains confused about how it could have happened given the product claim of being 'triple washed'.

You can watch Fox 2 Detroit’s coverage of the story here:

​

Have you encountered a similar incident, members? Share your experience in the comments below!

That’s so cute, glad it didn’t die, I bet the frog would have liked being triple washed too lol . They only wash in water so I wouldn’t have expected water to hurt it, but being stuck in a bag he was very lucky

 

[MariaG]

The frog probably though his dreams had come true being white water rafted around whilst the spinach was being washed.
I usually rinse all my fresh veggies, even if they say they were pre-washed. I reckon if I found little Kermit it would not have been an end of the universe disaster. I would have returned is to a friendly body of water.
I think this comes under the heading, stuff happens when dealing with enviro conscious suppliers. They do believe less is best. I guess that includes over handling.

 

[Mr Chips]

If it was an Aussie supermarket, the frog would not have gotten past the checkouts! No barcode? no exit. Lol.

 

[Keswickian]

I'm glad the little fellow was discovered before the veg was sliced up. Hope he got home safely.

 

[Sej]

Fresh produce is something many take for granted. After all, knowing it's coming from the shops tells us it'll be safe to eat and (usually) of good quality.

But sometimes, you might find that what you get from the supermarket isn't all you expected. And it's not just dietary concerns like the best-by-date on food that you should be worried about–as a recent incident proves.

The Worrick family, from Michigan, was shopping for organic baby spinach when they jumped in surprise.

According to the family, they opened up the sealed packet–which promised a 'triple washed' product–and were shocked to find something unexpected nestled among the leaves.

As Amber Worrick, who purchased the spinach, later recounted: 'My daughter was screaming, she was like, “Oh my God, it's a frog”, and I was like, “What?”’

Indeed, camouflaged among the leafy green vegetable was a small, live Pacific tree frog–a species native to California.

View attachment 27697

A Pacific tree frog was found inside a bag of spinach by an American family. Credit: Burke Museum

Amber confirmed the discovery and described the little creature as moving, which led many to wonder: if it had not been for her daughter’s eagle eye, would she have eaten it?

'Just thank God I didn't eat the frog,' she said.

The frog and the spinach were taken back to the shop where the Worrick family had purchased it. The shop relocated the frog to a new home and kindly refunded the family.

Earthbound Farms, the organic spinach brand Amber purchased, released a statement to apologise for the incident.

‘Our organic farming practices help promote biodiversity and healthy ecosystems on and around our farms. We will continue to work tirelessly to provide the freshest, finest quality veggies for consumers,’ it said.

While Amber and her family are happy to put the incident behind them, this brings up the issue of the quality of fruits and vegetables in supermarkets and the standards by which they are processed.

‘I don’t believe that it was washed, or else they would have caught a whole live frog,’ Amber expressed.

Key Takeaways

• A family in the United States discovered a live frog in their sealed bag of organic baby spinach.
• Despite the label claiming the spinach was 'triple washed', the frog, native to California, had somehow made it into the package.
• The mother returned the spinach to the supermarket and received a refund, while the store's employees relocated the frog.
• The parent company of Earthbound Farms Organic Spinach, Taylor Farms, apologised for the incident. Still, the mother remains confused about how it could have happened given the product claim of being 'triple washed'.

You can watch Fox 2 Detroit’s coverage of the story here:

​

Have you encountered a similar incident, members? Share your experience in the comments below!

What a great story! I was tickled pink. They got the spinach exactly as God made it!