It seems as if every news outlet is talking about the remains of an animal that was found in a man’s Diet Pepsi. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) believes that the goop that Fred DeNegri partially ingested and his wife emptied out of a can of tainted Diet Pepsi, is likely a “gutted […]
It seems as if every news outlet is talking about the remains of an animal that was found in a man’s Diet Pepsi. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) believes that the goop that Fred DeNegri partially ingested and his wife emptied out of a can of <"https://www.yourlawyer.com/practice_areas/food_poisoning">tainted Diet Pepsi, is likely a “gutted frog or toad,†reported CNN.
DeNegri gagged on his Diet Pepsi, according to his wife, Amy, said CNN. Fred tried to dump the contents down the sink, but felt something denser inside the can, at which point Amy shook the can over a paper plate and said that something that looked like “pink linguini†and then “dark stuff†slid out of the can, quoted CNN.
“It was disgusting,” said Amy DeNegri, 55. “And now, what started out as a normal afternoon in our tiki bar has blown up into this crazy thing,” reported CNN. The couple was grilling in their backyard when Fred took a gulp of the tainted soda.
Following the incident, they photographed the globby mess and called poison control and the FDA, said CNN. The FDA arrived the next day to look at and remove the can and its remaining contents for more review and, last week, the DeNegris received a copy of the FDA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs report stating that the contents seemed to be either a frog or a toad, said CNN. “The animal was lacking internal organs normally found in the abdominal and thoracic cavity,” the report noted, quoted CNN.
Amy DeNegri said that another, unopened can that came from the same 36-pack of Diet Pepsi, which was originally purchased from a Sam’s Club, was submitted for testing and came back clean, according to the report. Also, the FDA investigated the Orlando Pepsi bottling plant and “did not find any adverse conditions or association to this problem,” said spokeswoman Siobhan DeLancey, quoted CNN. “We have not determined when or how the contamination occurred,” DeLancey said in an e-mail, reported CNN.
The Orlando Sentinel reported that the can originated from a Pepsi plant in Orlando that runs over 1,200 cans per minute on its production line. “As we’ve stated all along, the speed of our production lines and the rigor of our quality control systems make it virtually impossible for this type of thing to happen in a production environment,” said Pepsi spokesman Jeff Dahncke, quoted the Orlando Sentinel. “The FDA conducted a thorough inspection of our Orlando facility and found no cause for concern. In this case, the FDA simply was unable to determine when or how the specimen entered the package,” he added.
Amy DeNegri said the animal was in the can before Fred opened it, reported the Orlando Sentinel, which explained that Amy said the can was in the refrigerator when Fred took it out, opened it—in her presence—started drinking, and gagged, noting that nothing could have entered the can from the time it was opened and until Fred drank from it. “The report proves that something was in there. We didn’t do it,” she said. “Obviously, it was too big for us to push inside that small hole,” Amy said, quoted the Orlando Sentinel.
The DeNegris said they are not planning on suing Pepsi, but are receiving legal advice on the situation, said the Orlando Sentinel, because of bad press and accusations of fraud they claim to have received. Amy DeNegri alleges that Pepsi has not been in contact with them since the can was picked up and that while she spoke to someone at the company by phone, once the representative learned the situation, the employee’s “attitude changed,†reported CNN. “She asked for my pictures, I sent them and never heard back,” DeNegri said, quoted CNN. The couple is looking at their options at this point saying, “I want to see Pepsi fess up to it and compensate my husband for the negative publicity they have caused,” she said. “I’m easy, but they’re the ones that are making it hard,” reported CNN.
