A Leslieville, Toronto resident got an unexpected surprise in a package of blackberries she recently purchased from an east-end grocery store.
On Wednesday, Denise Buchanan bought two packs of berries grown in Mexico from the No Frills at Carlaw Avenue and Gerrard Street East. When she opened the clear plastic packages to wash them the following afternoon the mother of two was “shocked” to find a dead scorpion at the bottom of one of the containers. The reddish brown creature measured just over an inch long.
During a Facebook interview, Buchanan said she was “grossed out” but also a little "fascinated" to find the venomous invertebrate in her children’s after-school snack.
She immediately threw out the berries, but kept the packages and the scorpion. She plans to return the items along with the arachnid to her local supermarket.
Karen Gumbs, a spokesperson for Loblaw Companies Limited, urged Buchanan to return the item to the store where she bought it or call Loblaws customer service line at 1-866-987-6453.
“We definitely want to know about it,” Gumbs said Friday morning. “We do have a process in place (for situations like this). We do have a team that will definitely start an investigation.”
Source: thespec.com