Flies, Frogs or Rodent Hair in food? Here’s what to do…

September 4th, 2009. By AbiK

The recent news of frog (toad?) remains in Fred DeNegri’s Diet Pepsi sounded less than appetizing. But I imagine “alarming” would be the more appropriate word for it if you were sitting in Fred’s shoes sipping back that fizz-laden refresher and…WHAM! Frog in your face!

Most of us (ok, me) would’ve hurled the can across the lawn and screamed a few high-pitched obscenities. But, let’s step back a moment—just what are you supposed to do? Who do you call? How do you call Pepsi (or its bottler) to task? The DeNegri’s had enough sense to do the right thing, but many of us don’t.

Here’s a little primer on “who you gonna call?” when something’s in your food or drink that shouldn’t be…

1. Do not throw out the item in question. You’ll need the food or drink container or package in which the incident occurred so you can answer any questions about it and/or submit it for testing. Report what happened as soon as possible.

2. Call the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator for your state or region. A list of coordinators is available here. If it is an emergency—such as with foodborne illness or a drug that has been tampered with, call the FDA emergency number: 301-443-1240.

Be prepared to…

• Give the names, addresses and phone numbers of whoever’s been affected. Include your name, address and phone number, as well as that of the doctor or hospital if emergency treatment was provided.
• Describe the product as completely as possible, including any codes or identifying marks on the label or container. Give the name and address of the store where the product was purchased and the date of purchase.

3. The FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator will evaluate each complaint and determine any appropriate action. In the interim, you should report the problem to the manufacturer or distributor shown on the label and to the store where you purchased the product.

Your FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator will provide you with further guidance. Be sure to seek medical attention if necessary, and remember, legal help is always an option.

Tags: FDA, food safety, Pepsi

This was posted on Friday, September 4th, 2009 at 4:40 pm and is filed under Defective Products . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.