Hopping Mad at Pepsi Over Frog in Can

September 4th, 2009. By Hunter West

Amy DeNegri is hopping mad at Pepsi. You would be too, if you found the remains of a disemboweled frog (or perhaps a toad) in your can of soda. Imagine the feeling, the taste, and the horror of popping open a can of something that has been hermetically sealed so that not even an organism can get in, let alone a frog, and finding more than you bargained for? 

That’s what happened to Amy’s husband. Fred cracked open a fresh can of his favorite refreshment in the backyard while tending the BBQ. Something any of us would do. And no one would expect what greeted Fred when he took that long, first swig. 

What did it taste like? He didn’t say. But it was bad enough that he gagged. You would too, given that the Diet Pepsi he took into his mouth had, for an incalculable period of time, been working to corrode and decompose a frog that had somehow wandered or was pushed into the can. 

But the DeNegris kept their wits about them (even if Fred might never look at a can of Diet Pepsi the same way again) and sent the can off for testing. As most have heard, or read by now the result came back from the US Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Regulatory Affairs. 

The conclusion: It was indeed a frog, or a toad in Fred’s can. “The animal was lacking internal organs normally found in the abdominal and thoracic cavity,” states the report. 

Nice. So how could a frog get into a sealed can? Dunno. Pepsi inspected its facility and found nothing lacking. The FDA inspected it too, and came up dry. It may wind up being one of those mysteries that will never be solved, and Fred DeNegri may go to his grave wondering how a frog lacking internal organs managed to get into his can of soda. 

However, what really has the DeNegris upset, according to a recent CNN report, is the ambivalence of Pepsi. Amy says she spoke with someone from Pepsi on the phone the day after the incident happened and reported that the woman at the other end of the line was apologetic. But then Amy said they had sent off the can for testing, complete with pictures. Suddenly the Pepsi rep’s attitude changed. “She asked for pictures,” Amy told CNN. “I sent them and never heard back.” 

Shame on Pepsi-not just for the frog in the can, as unexplained things like that DO happen. But for heaven’s sake, where’s their PR? Where are the profound letters of apology, the umpteen free cases of product? Where is the compassion? Are corporations so arrogant that they have lost sight of what it might be like to open a can of Pepsi and suck down a frog instead? Who knows, perhaps a little common courtesy might of dispelled any thought of litigation… 

But not now. The DeNegris are seeking legal advice to explore their options. 

Good on you, Amy and Fred DeNegri. Let’s hope you get a whack of compensation, and not just for the frog in the Pepsi, either. But for the unfeeling, arrogant and unresponsive manner by which the manufacturer allegedly handled the issue. Corporations, remember your customer. Remember the individuals that keep you in business, keep you in your penthouses with your yachts, your investments and your 401(k)s to die for. Remember the contribution to your success and livelihood by the little guy who pops open a can of soda in his backyard and trusts you to have provided him with the promised Pepsi.

God, it’s enough to make you switch to Coke.

 

Tags: Frog, Pepsi

This was posted on Friday, September 4th, 2009 at 12:55 pm and is filed under Defective Products . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.